Cat and Mouse
by SouthernStars
Summary: East High's bad boy and East High's sweetheart started something on New Year's Eve that led to a game of cat and mouse that neither was prepared for. TxG. Previously a oneshot titled 'Who Would've Thought?
1. Who Would've Thought?

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own 'High School Musical' or any related characters.**

**A/N: Okay, so this is the first chapter of 'Cat and Mouse' and I know that in the beginning this Troy is increasingly similar to the Troy in 'Dangerous Fascination' **_**but**_** I've revised this and I already know what Troy in this is going to be like so, hopefully, you'll all notice the differences between the two. Like Troy being cocky instead of confident. Hopefully, I can keep up with two stories going at once!**

_**Cat and Mouse**_

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**CHAPTER 1**

**WHO WOULD'VE THOUGHT?**

Troy glanced around the room, his eyes flicking over the hoards of students dancing against each other, noticing, assessing and then dismissing. He wasn't surprised that he was bored out of his mind, his enjoyment of parties only came when something interesting happened and at the moment, the 'exclusive' East High parties that he'd been attending where about as fun as having his teeth pulled, especially this one. It was meant to be the biggest party of the year, the New Year's Eve one where they didn't have to worry about noise complaints because the neighbors were out and could get as smashed as they wanted and not have to worry because their parents wouldn't be home the next morning and see them hung over. Lifting the beer he'd been nursing for the past hour, Troy took a sip as his eyes continued to flick around the room, this would definitely be fun for a junior maybe or even a sophomore that had managed to get in. But not a senior who had out grown high school by his junior year. Seeing a leggy brunette make her way toward him, Troy groaned silently and waited as she stopped in front of him.

"Hi Troy." She giggled and Troy looked at her and estimated that in another half-hour she'd be passed out in one of the many bedrooms upstairs.

"Clare." He acknowledged and she giggled again, stumbling slightly as someone brushed past her. Troy rolled his eyes at her and turned his attention back to surveying the room. Finding the various couples making out on the dance floor or up against a wall about as amusing as watching a daytime soap opera.

Hearing yelling, Troy turned his head to his right and grinned slightly as he watched one of his friends take a drunken punch at another or his friends head. His other friend, slightly less drunk then the other managed to dodge it and stumbled slightly. Troy watched for a moment, laughing slightly as they both tried to make contact with each others faces and failed miserably, strolling casually over to the circle around the two. Troy ignored the way people shrunk away from him slightly and instead calmly grabbed the slightly less drunk guys arm stopping the punch, which would have connected solidly with the other guys jaw, only few inches away.

"Guys, enough. Its only fun before someone gets hurt." Troy said his tone light and casual, his grip on the boys arm tightening as he gave both boys a warning look. Both nodded sullenly and Troy gave both of them a slow, dangerous smile.

"Glad we agree." He said letting go of the boys arm and watching as the crowd and two guys dispersed. He watched in pure amazement as the teenagers who had been watching the fight, quickly forgot about the fight and the disappointment of it breaking up and returned to dancing and gossiping.

For a moment Troy stood still, contemplating leaving the party and then as his eyes swept the room once again, they landed on something that made his eyes narrow. One of his teammates had a girl pinned to the wall, Troy couldn't see exactly where his hands were but he knew where they weren't. His eyes snapped to the girls face and her tear stained face as she tried to push him off her, was enough for Troy to cross the room. Hands shoved into his pockets, eyes dark with anger, people moved out of his way once they saw his face, some followed as they wondered what exactly had the normally calmly controlled Troy Bolton show emotion.

"Stop! Please!" She begged him as Troy reached them, her eyes snapped to him and widened in terror as she saw Troy's face. She struggled more violently against the boy who had her pinned to the wall and then closed her eyes as Troy's hand shot out from his pocket and gripped her captor by the shoulder.

Troy spun the guy around and he stumbled as the girl sank to the floor, gasping for air and shaking convulsively. His teammate looked him up and down and then his face turned into a sneer, knowing exactly why Troy was there.

"Ooooh, look it's the bad boy, Troy Bolton. What you going to do Troy? Beat me up?" Troy let out a dry 'ha' as Greg, his teammate, sneered at him, the amount of alcohol he'd consumed slurring his speech and intensifying the malicious glint in his eyes.

"Dude, what I _would_ do to you is much worse then beating you up." Troy said, the dangerous glint in his eyes giving away the calmly controlled tone of his voice. Greg either didn't notice or didn't care as he looked up at his teammate. Both ignoring the pounding music cutting off as more people began to notice what was happening between the two and beginning to nudge the person next to them, whispering that Greg had to have done something bad for Troy to be showing signs of barely controlled fury. Even in a drunken stupor, no-one dared approach the two or the girl curled up at their feet, her knees against her chest, her head buried in her knees for fear of waking up the next morning with a broken nose.

"But wait, what are we discussing Troy? Why did you pull me away from my fu-" Greg was cut off as Troy slammed him into the wall, ignoring the way the girl at his feet gave a shudder and a cry and the people around them gasped in shock.

"Dude, if you _ever_ pull something like what you were doing to this girl again and I'm around, you'd better hope to God you wake up the next morning. I can tolerate a lot, Greg, but when a girl tells you to stop and you don't? You'd better hope that someone up there likes you. Got it?" Troy hissed at him, his blue eyes flashing furiously, his jaw set dangerously as his teammate struggled to pull his shirt out of Troy's grip. When he didn't answer, Troy slammed him into the wall again. "I asked you if you got it Greg." Troy spat at him and Greg nodded feebly.

"I got it." He managed to groan and Troy let go of his shirt. Greg leaned against the wall for support as Troy turned from him and to the girl. Bending down, he grasped her arm and ignored the way she began to shake again, pulling her up; Troy made a movement to lead her away and then turned and hit Greg in the jaw. The group around them winced as a sickening crack echoed through the silent room and Greg fell to the floor in pain.

Grasping the girls arm again, Troy pulled her through the crowd of people who had slowly begun to understand that they weren't going to find out anything from Greg as they looked at him on the floor, twitching in pain. No-one dared approach Troy or the girl as Troy pulled her out of the room, grabbing his jacket as he left the silent party. Continuing to propel the girl forward, Troy pulled her down the street, ignoring the feeble protest as he continued to walk and pull her along with him. With a flash of grim amusement, Troy suddenly realized that this was not how he'd pictured the celebration of the coming year playing out. Well, the dragging a girl away from the party part wasn't what he'd imagined anyway. When they were a block away from the party, Troy stopped walking and pulled her in front of him.

Looking down at her, Troy suddenly realized who she was. Pushing away the flare of anger as he recognized her, Troy's eyes swept over her as she trembled, searching for any visible injuries that Greg may have caused. When he couldn't find anything, Troy draped his jacket over her shoulders, knowing that she was shaking violently from shock and the cool air. He disregarded the look of surprise on her face as his eyes continued to sweep over her as she pulled the jacket tighter around her shoulders. When his inspection of her was complete, Troy's hand dropped from her arm and he shoved one hand in the back pocket of his jeans.

"Where do you live?" He asked quietly and she looked at him, the fright from what had happened faded from her eyes and was replaced with a look of mistrust. Troy noted it with the same grim amusement he had before, liking the way she didn't trust him.

"Another block from here." She replied and he nodded.

"Good. I'll walk you there." He said and she opened her mouth to argue and then closed it again, as the look he sent her silenced her and the mistrust in him deepened.

She knew him, everyone who went to their school did. He was the one that you noticed after the snide comments, exaggerated stories and obnoxious laughter of his friends. He was the one all you had to do was look at and you knew that he pulled the strings, the calmly controlled one that never gave anything away. He was the one that the entire school never argued with, the one that no-one challenged. His looks and basketball captaincy keeping him in the teacher's good books and his tightly controlled emotions and calm, often dangerous, authority keeping the students of East High, wary about what they said and who they said it too. All of them knowing that while Chad put on the show, Troy directed it all.

"I know who you are." She said suddenly, breaking the tense silence they were walking in. Troy looked at her, amusement in his eyes as he took in her face.

"Oh yeah?" He asked, sensing the annoyance in her at the amusement in his voice.

"Yeah. You're Troy Bolton. East High's legendary bad boy. Your reputation precedes you. Any student transferring to East High more often then not, knows about you before you know about them. You're the one behind every scheme that goes on at East High, you never get caught though, you're too smart to get caught, but not smart enough to cover the reputation that you have." She said and Troy grinned at her lazily, amused by the way her eyes flashed when she spoke.

"You know Gabriella that sounds about right." Troy said as she stopped in front of a dark house. She turned to him, her eyes sharp as she looked up at him. Feeling thoroughly disconcerted that he hadn't responded at all to her words the way she'd expected him too.

"I wasn't finished," she snapped at him and Troy raised his eyebrows at her, his eyes drifting over her and for the first time taking in what she was wearing. He almost nodded in approval at her choice of skinny jeans tucked into tall black boots, a black thick spaghetti strapped top that floated down to half way down her thighs. Her hair was loose and the glossy black curls reached just past her shoulders. Whether she knew it or not, she was dressed to entice.

"Okay. What else were you going to add to the dissection of who you know I am?" Troy asked and Gabriella glared up at him, finding it unsettling that he wasn't showing any emotion but amusement and that emotion was one that everyone saw on a daily basis. Her eyes flicked over him, taking in the faded blue jeans and the light blue buttoned down shirt with the sleeves carelessly folded up to show his tanned forearms. Glancing up at the short, brown hair that was incredibly reminiscent of bed hair, Gabriella suddenly became very aware of how devastatingly attractive Troy Bolton was.

"Do you know that everyone calls you the 'bad boy with morals'?" Gabriella asked and Troy raised his eyebrows at her, stepping closer as he thought about the words.

"What's that meant to mean?" He asked and Gabriella shrugged, stepping away from him.

"Well, you do these things that are the complete stereotype of a bad boy, do you know that? You cause trouble, you don't care about the trouble you cause, you don't care if you hurt someone, and you'd rather use your fist then your brain. All of those are stereotypical of a bad boy and then you do something like tonight." Gabriella said and Troy raised his eyebrows at her.

"Something like tonight? What's that meant to mean?" He asked and Gabriella shrugged again, feeling very uncomfortable as to where the conversation was leading, which seemed to be where ever Troy wanted it to go.

"Well, saving me from Greg and then threatening him. I don't know who instilled whatever it is which takes you out of the stereotype of a bad boy Troy, because I'm not sure if its morals per se, that does that. But whatever it is, it's the same thing that made you pull Greg off me tonight." Gabriella said, pushing the memory of what had happened out of her mind and looking up at Troy, who seemed to be thinking about what she had said seriously. Suddenly a grin slipped onto his face and he took another step toward her.

"You know Gabriella, for someone who's only been at East High for what? A semester? You seem to know a hell of a lot about me." Troy said and Gabriella froze as she saw the danger in his smile. Not the same danger he'd had when he'd been threatening Greg, a different one. One that was dangerously seductive and carelessly teasing, a deceptively sexy combination.

"Do I? Or are you just saying that because you want to screw me?" Gabriella snapped at him, trying to fight the unfamiliar sensation of want that had coursed through her at his smile. His eyes darkened at her words and he took another step toward her. Gabriella felt her back hit the power pole and felt her breathing to become short. Realizing that this had been his aim all along.

"Ah Gabriella. You do realize that if I wanted to screw you, I wouldn't have bothered to walk you home? I probably would have done it in one of the bedrooms back at the party." Troy said and Gabriella swallowed at his words and wished vigorously that the feeling in her legs would come back as one of his hands settled on the power pole next to her head, his body leaning into hers, his face close to hers. Her mind flashed to what happened at the party and then the memory was pushed out as his other hand slid under the hem of her shirt and began to caress her upper thigh carefully.

"Would you have?" She asked, forcing herself to ignore the feel of his hand on her thigh, biting down on her lip, Gabriella focused her attention on Troy's mouth. Finding it easier to look at it then his eyes.

"Maybe. Now it's my turn to tell you what I know about you." Troy said and Gabriella's eyes snapped to meet his own. "You're Gabriella Montez. East High's sweetheart. You don't have a black mark to you name, you don't even have a reputation. You volunteer at the animal shelter on the weekend, help the elderly with their shopping and are in every AP class known to man." He said and Gabriella's eyes narrowed as he spoke.

"You've been watching me." She accused him and Troy shrugged, not really put off by her tone.

"Maybe just a little. But then I could accuse the same of you." Troy replied and tilted his head, placing his lips on her neck and kissing up to her jaw line. Listening to the strangled moan Gabriella gave as he nipped her earlobe and grinned.

"Troy don't." Gabriella said opening her eyes and glaring at him. Troy smirked at her, pressing up against her, the hand that was caressing her upper thigh, shifted, lifting her leg and wrapping it around him.

"You want to know what else I know about you Gabriella?" Troy whispered in her ear, his tongue flicking over it slightly as her arms slid to encase his neck.

"What?" She asked, a hand slipping beneath his collar and running over the back muscles that rippled just beneath his shirt.

"If you didn't want this you would have stopped it by now." He said with a smirk and Gabriella suddenly realized he was right and made an attempt at pushing him away. Feeling the resolve to never get involved with someone like him, fade as he pushed her more firmly against the power pole and drew soft, strangled moans from her as his mouth began an exploration of her neck. The hand on her thigh, sliding up and creeping to her stomach, which quivered at the touch of his hand.

"Troy…" Gabriella started to say and he looked at her, his eyes dark with something close to desire.

"You know what else we know about each other Gabriella?" He asked and she shook her head, biting her lip as his hand slid behind her back and tickled her bra clasp. Leaning close to her ear, Troy bit it softly before he spoke. "East High's bad boy is more then a little attracted to East High's sweetheart and he knows the East High's sweetheart is more then a little attracted to East High's bad boy." He whispered, listening to her gasp as he snapped her bra clasp and guided it to her waist. Gabriella bit down on her lip harder as she realized how true his words were, she wouldn't know anything about him if she wasn't more then slightly attracted to him and he certainly wouldn't know anything about her if he didn't feel the same way.

"Is that a ploy to get me into bed?" She asked as he pulled the bra out from under her shirt, Troy pulled back and grinned at her.

"Whether you like it or not Montez, I'm going to screw you, whether it's up against this pole or in your bed." Troy said and Gabriella found she liked the idea a lot more then she had when she'd first been pinned up against the pole.

"Bolton, I don't care where it is as long as you do it." Gabriella said pulling him even closer to her and Troy smirked, liking the idea of Gabriella having a less innocent side.

"You won't regret it in the morning?" He asked trailing torturously slow kisses around her mouth and listening to her groan in impatience. Hearing a faint countdown, Gabriella smirked and ran her tongue along her lips in an innocently inviting gesture.

"If you wait five seconds, there'll be no need to regret anything because a new year means a new beginning." She replied and then pulled his mouth down to hers when she heard the countdown reach one. Feeling a strange weakness in her, Gabriella moaned against his mouth and felt him swallow it greedily. Pulling away, Troy looked down at her and then smirked.

"East High's bad boy and East High's sweetheart, together, who would've thought?" He said with a grin and Gabriella couldn't be bothered to respond, pulling his head back down to hers and pressing herself against him, not caring who would have thought about them together.

**A/N: So hopefully, you've all read that and I'll get the second chapter up soon! I almost forgot, I've got to thank Rizmu, I've been contemplating continuing this for ages and her PM gave me the extra nudge to start it!**


	2. Against Your Will

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own 'High School Musical' or any related characters.**

**A/N: Told ya the next would be up soon! Well, technically not soon, but soon enough for me anyway! Enjoy!**

_**Cat and Mouse**_

**CHAPTER 2**

**AGAINST YOUR WILL**

Gabriella shifted slightly when sunlight hit her face. Groaning, she rolled over to hide her face in the warm chest that had been beside her for the past few hours only to find that the warm chest she'd unknowingly grown accustomed to was gone. Opening her eyes slowly and than shutting them again tightly when she saw nothing but an empty side of the bed. Taking a deep breath, she reopened her eyes and was once again met with an empty side of her bed. The side of her bed that Troy had spent the last, Gabriella turned her head to look at her alarm clock and her eyes widened when she discovered that she had spent a total of fourteen hours in her bed, which meant she'd spent over twelve hours with Troy Bolton. In a bed, having the most incredible…Gabriella shot up, clutching her sheet to her chest as she realized exactly _how_ she had spent the last fourteen hours and remembered what had happened before she'd landed on her bed five minutes after midnight.

"Oh my God." She groaned, falling back down on her pillow, Gabriella grabbed the pillow next to her and slammed it over her face. Taking a deep breath, she screamed into it. Her aim to loose her breath and smother herself with the pillow. When the natural human instinct took over to breath, Gabriella yanked the pillow off her face and slammed it down next to her. Furious that it had both failed to kill her and smelt exactly like Troy, which had caused her mind to flash to memories of the previous hours she'd spent with him.

Groaning again, Gabriella sat up and bit her lip as she looked over at the place that Troy had been sleeping. How had she been stupid enough to allow herself to be seduced by Troy Bolton, East High's resident bad boy? Admittedly, he had saved her from Greg at the party and he had seemed a little angrier when he'd looked down at her and figured out who she was last night…and the way he had touched her had made it impossible for coherent thought. Gabriella supposed that all these factors had led to her waking up in her bed at four o'clock in the afternoon, alone in bed and naked. Rubbing a hand over her face, Gabriella looked at the clock and nearly fell out of bed. Her mother was due home from her own New Year's festivities in just over an hour and somehow, Gabriella was pretty sure she wouldn't appreciate coming home to find her in the position she was. In fact, Gabriella was pretty sure her mother wouldn't appreciate coming home to a house that looked like it hadn't been touched since she'd left the night before.

"I need a shower." Gabriella muttered. Feeling uncomfortable at how exposed she was despite the fact she was alone in her room, Gabriella wrapped her sheet around her body and stood up. Glancing around her room, Gabriella came to the conclusion she needed to seriously clean it up after her shower and then froze when her eyes landed on an article of clothing that didn't belong to her. An article of clothing that up until last night, she'd never even seen before.

He'd left his jacket at her house. The jerk had left his jacket at her house. He must have wanted to badly to get out, he must have skipped it, Gabriella thought bitterly and then sighed. She now had another thing to add to her list of taking a shower, cleaning her room and making the house seem like she'd at least visited some of the rooms since her mother had left and on top of all that, she now had to hide his jacket because if her mother saw a boys jacket in her daughters Gabriella was well aware her mother's mind would jump to one of two conclusions. She would either assume Gabriella now had a boyfriend and had borrowed it or she would _know_ Gabriella had had sex with someone and they'd left their jacket in her room. Groaning, Gabriella grabbed the jacket and stalked over to her closet. Yanking it open, she stuffed it in between the wall of her wardrobe and a chest of drawers that had been placed in there for no other reason but to hold the many books her bookshelf couldn't. Slamming the door shut, Gabriella let out a breath and leaned against it. Screw the shower, she suddenly thought, I need to see Taylor, with that thought Gabriella opened the door again and grabbed some fresh clothes.

HSM-HSM-HSM-HSM-HSM

"You actually _slept_ with Troy Bolton?" Taylor McKessie stared at her best friend in utter disbelief as Gabriella focused on the ceiling of her room. Seeing her friend nod, Taylor fell onto the bed beside Gabriella and stared at the ceiling.

"Okay, let me get this straight," Taylor paused for a moment to collect her thoughts and than continued. "Last night you went to one of East High's New Year's party, one of the biggest parties of the year, you had one drink, _one_, and you ended up against a wall with some guy molesting you, is that right?" Taylor asked, looking at Gabriella for confirmation.

"Pretty much," She replied, still finding the periwinkle blue of Taylor's roof much more interesting than her best friends face.

"Then, lo and behold, Troy Bolton, East High's God and resident bad boy, appears out of no where and pulls the guy off you. Slamming him into a wall and snarling at him as you sob at their feet, right?" Taylor didn't bother to wait for Gabriella's nod of confirmation, before she continued. "Then, he _drags_ you out of the part he's stopped, knocking the guy out before you guys actually exit the building. As soon as you're a block away, he studies you, puts his jacket around your shoulders and than tells you he's walking you home? Girl, did that _not_ send warning bells off in your head?" Taylor asked incredulously and Gabriella rolled her eyes.

"No Tay it didn't, I was too bust not trusting him and trying to get over the fact that he attacked a guy because of what he was doing to me." She snapped back and Taylor sighed.

"Backing down, backing down. Anyway, you guys reach your house, get into a," here Taylor hesitated, not exactly sure what to make of the conversation that ensued between the two, which Gabriella had relayed word for word to her. "Discussion and he backs you into a _power pole_? Which you totally did not fight and he's touching you and talking-" Gabriella cut her off.

"And kissing all the right places. Do you know what he said to me Taylor? He said, these are his words too, 'East High's bad boy is more than a little attracted to East High's sweetheart and East High's sweetheart is more than a little attracted to East High's bad boy'." Gabriella said, standing and pacing around Taylor's room, ignoring the way Taylor's eyebrows rose.

"And then you say something smart and he tells you that he was going to screw you either up against the pole or in your bed and you went completely off your head and told him you didn't care as long as he did it, true?" Taylor asked and Gabriella nodded and rubbed her eyes, feeling tired.

"Uh-huh. Sums up the entire story, because I know you don't need to know exactly what happened after that." Gabriella said and Taylor grimaced slightly.

"Please, I got the picture as soon as you said 'Troy Bolton' and 'bedroom' in the same sentence. So, why exactly are you panicking about this? It was a one-night stand." Taylor said and it was Gabriella's turn to raise her eyebrows.

"A fourteen hour one-night stand where neither the guy nor the girl were drunk?" She questioned and Taylor gave her a funny look.

"Um, that doesn't really sound like the East High definition of a one-night stand. Anyway, you didn't answer my other question. Why are you panicking about it? Its not like Troy's going to announce to the entire student body that he slept with you when we go back after break." Taylor said and Gabriella shrugged.

"I don't know. It was just, who would've honestly thought that Troy and I would spend that much time doing…that?" Gabriella asked and Taylor shrugged.

"Um, the hopeless romantics who honestly believe that the girl next door can reform the bad boy?" Taylor said and Gabriella shot her a look that had her grinning. "Come on Gabi, its not like it's the end of the world. What's the worst that can happen?" Taylor said and Gabriella sighed.

"Taylor, I'm going to be grounded for life when my mother sees the state of my neck. Do you know the last time she saw a scratch on my neck; she accused me of having a relationship behind her back? It was from a tree branch that had nicked my throat when I was out running." Gabriella said and Taylor had to cover her mouth to stifle her giggle at the state Gabriella was in.

"Gabs, it's called foundation and wearing your hair down until they've healed. Besides, your mom won't notice unless it's red and really noticeable," Taylor shrugged and Gabriella gathered her hair in one hand and lifted it off her shoulders.

"Like that?" She inquired and Taylor looked at them in disbelief, they really were bright red and really noticeable. No wonder Gabriella was going into a panic.

"Oh, wow, um, they are really noticeable. Do they hurt?" She asked as Gabriella let her hair fall back and she arranged it so they weren't that visible under her brown curls.

"I'm not answering that. Look, Taylor, I have to go, I've got to return a jacket before he comes looking for it. So I'll talk to you later." Gabriella said, reaching down and picking up her bag that was bulging slightly due to the jacket she'd stuffed in there, after pulling it out of its hiding place after her shower she'd decided she really _did_ need. Taylor bit her lip and stood up.

"Gabriella? Look, I know I haven't been the help you were looking for but can I say something?" Taylor asked tentatively, wondering how Gabriella was going to take what she was about to say.

"Sure." Gabriella nodded and concentrated on her friend.

"Just return the jacket. Don't start anything with Troy; try to avoid talking to Troy while you're dropping it off. Trust me on this okay? You don't want to start something with Troy Bolton because it always turns out badly." Taylor said and Gabriella stared at her friend for a moment, wondering if she should say anything to those words before sighing.

"Why would I want to start something with Troy Bolton anyway? Its not like he's going to want to remember what happened." Gabriella said and left Taylor's room with only a quick wave back to her friend who rolled her eyes as soon as the door had shut.

She was going to be quick. That was something she'd already promised herself when she began to walk down the sidewalk and towards the place she hoped was Troy's house. Gabriella sighed as she realized what she was doing, she was going to his house to return a jacket because she didn't want him coming back to look for it. She knew part of the reason she was returning it to him now was because she didn't want to at school. Stopping in front of a large house Gabriella was now praying was Troy's place; she walked up the porch steps and knocked on the door. She suddenly realized what she was doing, it was the afternoon after New Year's Eve, everyone was probably exhausted from all night celebrations, herself included, and here she was trying to return a jacket because she didn't want to get into trouble with her mother. Just as she turned to leave, the door swung open and a woman Gabriella could only assume was Troy's mother appeared.

"Um, hi, I'm sorry to bother you," Gabriella said, smiling politely as the woman's face creased into a friendly smile as she looked at Gabriella.

"It's alright. I'm assuming you're after Troy?" Before Gabriella do or say anything, Troy had appeared in the doorway, his blue eyes flicking over her in amusement. Nervously, Gabriella eyed his chest that was covered by a black wife beater before opening her bag.

"Gabriella, didn't expect to see you so soon." Troy grinned at her, watching as she yanked his jacket out of her bag. So she had noticed it was there, he thought, and obviously hadn't particularly liked the fact that he'd left it there.

"Troy, didn't think you left things at girl's houses." She shot back, throwing the jacket at him. Troy caught it in one hand and leaned against the doorway, folding his arms and looking her up and down, the smirk on his face clearly stating what he was thinking.

"Usually I don't. I figured this could be an exception, seeing as you seemed to enjoy my company so much." He grinned and Gabriella blushed and avoided meeting his gaze. Taylor's piece of advice floated into her mind and Gabriella decided to take it.

"I'm not interested in your games Troy." She said bluntly and Troy's eyes twinkled with amusement and they flicked over her again.

"Uh-huh. I know. It's too bad that I want you to be isn't it?" That caught her attention and Troy controlled his smirk from forming into a grin as her eyes met his and he saw the same mistrust in them as last night.

"Yes, it is." She agreed and Troy raised his eyebrows. Moving closer to her, Troy lowered his mouth to her ear.

"Oh well, I guess you'll find yourself in one against your will. Thanks for my jacket and last night, I'll see you at school." Troy's lips brushed across her ear before he walked back into the house and shut the door, leaving Gabriella standing on his porch feeling very much like he had just started something that she hadn't wanted. Against her will.

**A/N: So this definitely won't be my best work, just something fun that I'll write every now and then. I hope you enjoyed it!**


	3. Game On

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own 'High School Musical' or any related characters.**

**A/N: Okay, here is the next chapter of 'Cat and Mouse'! I'm trying to update 'Dangerous Fascination' and 'Cat and Mouse' around a day apart from each other. So that one's not neglected in favor of the other anyway, I hope you enjoy this!**

_**Cat and Mouse**_

**CHAPTER 3**

**GAME ON**

Troy walked through the doors of East High and grinned when he saw the masses of students running from place to place and chattering about their break. Many of them glanced at him as he walked past and he knew for a fact that his antics on New Year's Eve was the reason students were doing double takes as he walked. As long as they didn't know what went on _after_ he'd knocked Greg out, and possibly broken his jaw, Troy couldn't care less that they were talking about him. Reaching his locker, Troy spun the dial and pulled it open, ignoring the way a few girls giggled when they walked past him. Turning his head slightly, he smirked when he caught sight of a brunette. She was hugging her books to her chest and dodging people as she made her way down the hallway, his smirk widened when he saw the way she'd arranged her hair. Her brunette curls were arranged so that only a small amount of her neck was shown. It amused him that she kept her head down so that even the part of her neck that was visible, wasn't. Knowing that she wouldn't look his way, Troy turned his attention back to his locker, the smirk still clearly visible on his face as she walked past him.

"Hey man," Troy nearly jumped when he heard his best friend's voice. Instead, he shut his locker door and turned to the bushy-haired African-American male who was grinning from ear to ear and was carrying a basketball under one arm.

"Chad. How as New Years?" Troy asked and Chad grin got slightly larger as he looked at his best friend, whose blue eyes seemed remotely interested.

"You know how it goes man, girls to the left, girls to the right. They just seemed to love me." Chad said and Troy snorted at his words.

"Meaning, you were sober enough to hook up with someone and they were drunk enough to want to hook up with you?" Troy asked and Chad shrugged, his grin lessening slightly when Troy read straight through his answer.

"Yeah, whatever," Chad paused when Troy let out a snort of laughter and then continued. "Anyway, I heard you nearly killed Henderson on New Year's at the party and then left with Gabriella Montez." Troy glanced at his friend, his blue eyes noting the curious, slightly apprehensive, expression on Chad's face and decided to tell him the truth.

"Yeah, I did. Why do you ask? You know I've never liked Henderson." Troy replied and Chad raised his eyebrows at Troy's confession, noticing he specifically left Gabriella out of the sentence. He was no fool and knew by the slightest flicker in Troy's eyes that something had happened between the two.

"I know you've never liked Henderson, I'm just wondering what you did after you dragged East High's sweetheart out of that party," Chad said and was rewarded with a smirk that Chad knew was never a good thing. After knowing Troy for nearly the entire eighteen years they'd both been alive, Chad knew by that particular smirk, that whatever had happened between the two on New Year's Eve was going to escalate into a game that Troy was all to good at.

"It's not about _what _I did Chad, it's about _who_ I did." Troy replied carelessly and watched as Chad's face went from concerned to astonished within two seconds flat and knew that his friend was following what he was saying.

"Dude, that was a really bad way of saying that," Chad pointed out before continuing. "You mean you slept with Gabriella Montez?" He asked incredulously and Troy shrugged.

"Yes." He replied and Chad gaped at him as the bell that signaled the beginning of homeroom rang and Troy shoved his hands in his pockets and began to make his way towards his classroom. Chad shook his head before striding to catch up to Troy, who seemed totally unperturbed by his announcement and stared at him.

"Dude, Troy, do you just realize you said that you slept with Gabriella Montez? The most innocent girl in school?" Chad asked and Troy glanced at him, his eyes now amused as he examined his friend.

"She wasn't so innocent on New Years, in fact," Troy sent Chad a grin that told his friend a number of things as he reached for the doorknob of their homeroom, "I would say that she knew _exactly_ what she was doing." He finished as he opened the door and sent their teacher a charming smile as Chad stood in the doorway and stared at him in disbelief, not entirely unable to believe that Troy had managed to seduce the most innocent girl in school.

HSM-HSM-HSM-HSM-HSM

Gabriella sighed in relief as the bell signaling the beginning of lunch rang and her Math class ended. Slowly she began to pack up her books and watched as her classmates filed out the door, all of them chattering wildly about their break and who did what and when during it. She caught a few of them glance at her as she walked past and knew that what had happened at the party had circled the school and was currently being discussed from every angle imaginable. It wouldn't have bothered her if what she had heard wasn't so dangerously close to the truth. The few versions she'd heard were enough for her to wonder if someone had followed them back to her place after Troy had nearly killed Greg and than realized that someone had made it up. The thing that worried her most though was that people were making guesses as to what had happened _after_ she'd been dragged from the party and some of them were nearly dead on. Sighing, Gabriella made a movement to pile all her hair to one side and then stopped when she remembered what was on her neck. Making a noise of frustration, she gathered her books and stood, slowly making her way out of the classroom and towards her locker.

"You know Gabs, brooding about it won't help." Gabriella shot a glare at Taylor, who had appeared as soon as she'd walked out of the classroom and was currently grinning from ear to ear happily.

"I know! I just hate the fact that everyone's so aware of what happened," She snapped at her friend as she brushed past a group of students who glanced at her before resuming their conversation.

"Well, what did you expect? Someone was bound to remember Troy knocking Greg out and dragging you out of the party and everyone at school knows Troy well enough to know that something would have had to happen after the scene had been made." Taylor pointed out, leaning against the locker next to Gabriella's as she opened it and began to place her books in. Separating the ones she needed for homework and the ones she didn't into separate parts of her locker.

"Thanks Tay, that made me feel so much better," Gabriella said sarcastically and Taylor shrugged, more than a little amused by the way Gabriella pushed her hair back into the place she wanted it to be.

"No problem. Besides, I have a feeling Troy's told Danforth and I'm betting that whatever happened between you two everyone will know in full detail by this last period," Taylor said, examining the apple she'd pulled from her pocket before biting into it.

"Taylor! You told me he wouldn't tell the entire student body!" Gabriella exclaimed and Taylor shrugged as she chewed her apple.

"Well, I forgot he knew Chad." She replied and Gabriella slammed the locker shut as Taylor watched her, very much amused.

"That's just wonderful, that really is just wonderful!" Gabriella muttered, dragging her hand through her hair, forgetting all about covering her neck and what was currently residing on it.

"Gabs, I'm just messing with you. Chad wouldn't tell anyone, he's not that dumb." Taylor said, stifling a laugh as Gabriella glared at her friend, running her hand through her hair again as Taylor gasped a little for air.

"You are not funny." She said and Taylor shrugged and bit into her apple again.

"You know Gabriella, I think she is." Gabriella froze completely at the voice and Taylor's face lost its laughter, though her eyes still sparkled slightly as Gabriella whipped around to face Troy, who was leaning against the lockers and watching her.

"Go away Troy," She snapped and he grinned at her as his eyes flicked to her neck and than back to her face.

"Why should I?" He asked and Gabriella shot him an icy look before turning back to Taylor, who had gone. Gabriella felt her mouth drop open and than shivered when she felt Troy's arms slip around her waist.

"Seriously Troy, go away. I told you before that I wasn't interested in any of your games and I meant it," Gabriella said, standing as rigid as possible as he pulled her back against him.

"And I meant it when I said you'd find yourself in one against your will or didn't you think I was being serious?" He asked and Gabriella swallowed when she felt his breath against her ear. God, she'd hoped he hadn't been serious when he'd said that.

"I don't know what I thought, but I do know you thought wrong." She stated, her muscles beginning to ache slightly from being so tense, as he seemed to consider her words.

"You know exactly what you thought," Troy whispered in her ear, smirking when he heard her quick intake of breath at the way his lips nearly touched her ear.

"Your right, I'm pretty sure I thought that what happened was a mistake." Gabriella replied shortly and Troy chuckled slightly, Gabriella's stomach clenched as she felt his chest vibrate and than shivered again when she felt his breath on her neck again.

"No, I clearly remember asking you whether or not what you would regret what was going to happen and you telling me there was nothing to regret because a new year meant a new beginning." Gabriella winced at his words and silently wished she'd been thinking when he'd asked her if she'd regret it.

"I don't remember that," She said, trying to turn her body to look up at him. Troy kept his arms firmly in place and her back firmly against his chest when he felt her try to move.

"Uh-huh, I'm sure you don't," this time his lips brushed up against her ear and Gabriella shivered as the memory of what he could do to her ear flooded her mind. Swallowing, she made another attempt to move away from him and then bit her lip when she felt his breath move from her ear to her neck.

"Troy, what are you doing?" She asked and he smirked at the tone of her voice, she was nervous, that was a good thing. Pressing his lips to the mark he'd left on her neck, Troy smirked slightly when he felt her breathing become shallow. Lingering there for a moment, Troy moved back up to her ear.

"Game on Montez." He whispered and then left so suddenly Gabriella stumbled and had to steady herself on her locker. Swallowing hard, she took a deep steadying breath as Taylor reappeared, her mouth open in shock.

"I _told_ you not to start something with him!" Gabriella looked at her friend and sighed. Not able to find words, Gabriella shrugged and shook her head, unable to believe that she was part of a game she had no idea how to play.

**A/N: Ooooh, this is going to be so much fun to write! Its not intense and it really is just a bit of fun for me, sort of a counter balance to 'Dangerous Fascination' which is going to be really intense! Anyway, I hoped you all liked that!**


	4. Little Project

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own 'High School Musical' or any related characters.**

**A/N: Okay, so I'm true to my word, the next chapter is up! I suppose I'd better mention that, 'Dangerous Fascination' will nearly always be updated before 'Cat and Mouse'. Anyway, enjoy this chapter!**

_**Cat and Mouse**_

**CHAPTER 4**

**LITTLE PROJECT**

Gabriella let out a small sigh of relief when the bell ran signaling the end of the day. She wasn't exactly sure she could deal with another period of people pointing at her and whispering things she knew were not even remotely related to her academic performances or anything she'd said in class that day. As she walked out of the classroom she could already hear Taylor telling her that she brought it all on her self and while she knew that was true, Gabriella was still inclined to blame it all on Troy. Because, if he hadn't decided to walk her home, and then seduce her, then leave her jacket at his place and then decide to start a game she had absolutely no idea how to play, and be completely and utterly hot, adorable, gorgeous, anything that could be thought of to describe him, while he was doing it all. No-one in the school would be discussing her and the plan she had concocted at the beginning of high school, which involved getting through high school without any major mishaps and rumors, wouldn't have been blown out of the water. Despite the fact that she was well aware that she had played a large part in the night that had landed her in the position she was currently in, Gabriella was still very much inclined to blame it all on Troy.

"You know, that look would look lovely on someone who was intent on destroying the world." Taylor's amused voice had Gabriella shooting her a dark look as she fell into step beside her friend and headed for Gabriella's locker.

"That's good. I was actually just thinking about destroying East High's world. What would work better on killing Troy? A bullet to the head or poison?" Gabriella asked with a fake smile and Taylor laughed at her friend and shook her head, still very much amused by her friend's situation and Gabriella's reaction to it.

"Get over it Gabriella, while killing Troy would surely kill East High's population, the female percentage anyway, I'm pretty sure that you're just mad because everyone knows about something you don't want them too." Taylor said and Gabriella groaned as they stopped by her locker. Pulling it open, she sent Taylor a withering look and Taylor simply grinned.

"I hate how you can simplify what I'm feeling," Gabriella muttered, throwing her books in and taking out her bag and jacket. Taylor shrugged with a grin.

"A talent that I'm proud of. Anyway, walking through the park?" Taylor asked as Gabriella shut the locker door. Gabriella grinned at her, forgetting about her problem as they linked arms and began to walk towards the front doors.

"Of course, when have we not?" She asked and Taylor laughed as the two girls began to walk towards the park that was close to the school.

They were both silent as they turned into the park and began to walk. Gabriella, concentrating on the park and the difference between the winter atmosphere to the summer one. Taylor wondering if she should mention Troy at all, but she had to know about it.

"Hey Gabs? You and Troy weren't drunk when you guys slept together were you?" She asked hesitantly and Gabriella looked at her, surprised and a little bit annoyed by the question.

"No, we weren't. I'd had one drink and I know that Troy only had one too. He told me that, quite frankly actually," Gabriella replied shortly and Taylor nodded. They were silent again and then she broke it again, unable to contain herself.

"Gabs, I'm sorry I really am, but _why_ did you sleep with Troy? I mean, if you only had one drink, you couldn't have been drunk and therefore that would have left you with the complete ability to make decisions and the fact that you slept with Troy is just confusing me beyond belief, because, if I recall correctly, you told me that you were never going to get involved with someone like Troy and the fact that you slept with him is like flashing, neon lights, that say you're getting involved with someone like him." Gabriella stopped and blinked as Taylor's words came out in a jumbled rush and made no sense to her. Realization dawned on her face when she realized what Taylor was talking about and she turned away from her friend.

"I don't know Taylor. I honestly don't, he was just so…different. He didn't seem to care about his reputation and he really didn't care about mine." Gabriella said with a shrug and Taylor's mouth dropped open as she stared at her friend.

"You slept with him because he was _different_? Girl, most people would-" Gabriella interrupted her before Taylor could go any further.

"I know. Look, I really don't know why Taylor, I just did and now I'm regretting it, so lets leave it at that, alright?" She snapped at her and Taylor recoiled slightly at her friend's angry tone. As amused as she was about the whole escapade, Taylor could see that it had confused Gabriella and knew better than to push her friend when she was like this.

"Okay, okay, backing down. I was just, you know, wondering about it because it doesn't seem like you." Taylor said and Gabriella shrugged slightly at her words.

"I know it doesn't." She said softly and Taylor patted her back awkwardly, not quite sure what to make of her friend like this.

"On the bright side, you can now completely crush Troy when it comes to playing this game he's started." Taylor said brightly and Gabriella burst into laughter at her friends hope.

"Uh-uh. I don't know what game we're playing, if we're actually playing one and if we are I have no idea what the rules are." Gabriella said and Taylor laughed with her friend as they began to walk again.

"So basically, Troy's started this game and you're just going to stumble through it until the conclusion, right?" Taylor asked and Gabriella nodded exuberantly, feeling slightly happier at the change of subject, despite the fact that it was still on Troy.

"Yep. But it'll work, because he's the one that's going to be doing all the work and all I'll have to do is say no," Gabriella said proudly and Taylor laughed again at her friends naivety.

"I doubt it, but you know, I think you'll get by. It can't be that hard to resist him," Taylor said and Gabriella nodded as they came to a stop in the middle of the park. Turning to face each other, they both ignored the shouts of a group of boys playing basketball.

"Your right it's not hard," Gabriella agreed and then smiled carefully. "Anyone can resist Troy Bolton. If I can resist him then anybody can." She finished and Taylor nodded triumphantly before a new voice spoke.

"I didn't see you doing much resisting on New Year's." Both girls whipped around to look at Troy, who was watching them in pure amusement, dressed in playing gear. Taylor stared at him, while Gabriella's eyes narrowed.

"Um, I take that as my cue. See you Gabs." Taylor left before Gabriella could protest or even say goodbye. Huffing out a breath, she looked at Troy and, although a large part of her was telling her to walk away, opened her mouth.

"That's because I wasn't in my right mind on New Year's Eve and you and I both know that." She snapped at him and Troy smirked at her.

"No. You want both you and I to believe that, even though we're both well aware that you knew exactly what you were doing and so did I." Troy said and Gabriella felt her hand start to itch as the thought of slapping him crossed her mind. When the itch was under control, Gabriella felt it was safe to answer.

"No I didn't know what I was doing. I was scared half to death because of what happened at the party and even more interested in not trusting you at all." She shot back, folding her arms tightly across her chest as Troy raised his eyebrows.

"You know, I have a feeling that you were more afraid of what I was doing to Henderson, then Henderson himself. As for not trusting me, I think its wise to hold onto that." Troy said a hint of danger in his voice. Gabriella felt a shiver run down her spine at the look in his eyes when he said it and determinedly avoided looking him in the eye directly.

"Fine. I don't trust you happy?" She asked and he shrugged, feeling more and more amused at the way she was acting. It had been a long time since a girl had kept him this interested in a conversation.

"I guess so," Troy nodded and Gabriella turned around to walk away when Taylor's question flashed through her mind and she turned back to him, her chin set in a stubborn manner that most people found slightly intimidating and Troy simply found cute.

"I have a question," she announced and hurried on before he could interrupt. "Out of all the girls on New Year's Eve, why did you end up with me? I'm pretty sure you could have ended up with any girl at that party and you end with me. Why is that Troy?" She asked and for a moment thought she had thrown him off when she saw the way he hesitated before answering and then realized she hadn't thrown him off at all, he was just coming up with an answer.

"Why you? Alright Brie," Gabriella stared at the new name and then shook her head as he continued. "See those girls over there?" Troy waited until she had turned towards the basketball court and was looking at them.

"Yeah, what about them?" She asked and managed to suppress a shiver as she felt Troy move to stand directly behind her. So close, she could feel his body heat.

"Those girls are what every guy would go for. Tall, blonde, nice enough personality. Cheerleaders, dancers, whatever, right?" He said, knowing Gabriella would know it was a statement and not a question.

"All right, that doesn't explain anything." She said and wished that her feet would move away from him. Troy ignored her and continued.

"I'm bored with those girls Gabriella. I grew bored of them ages ago, so I needed to find someone new and you just happened to walk down the hallway when I made that decision," Troy's voice was so close to her ear right now that Gabriella had trouble concentrating on his words, quickly she forced herself to listen. "Getting to you became my own little project Gabriella; I became interested in the smart, shy girl who was in my homeroom." Troy said and Gabriella shivered at his words.

"So, what happened on New Year's Eve, did that satisfy you into going back to you tall blondes?" She asked, the tiny tremble in her voice causing him to grin.

"Not by a long shot, like I said Gabriella you're my own little project, one I intend to finish." He said, reaching up and touching the curls that fell onto her shoulders.

"So what's with the game?" Gabriella fought to keep her voice steady when she felt his hand on her back.

"The game? That's just the start of the project. I need to go, I'll talk to you later Brie." The shortened version of her name coming from his lips again, shocked her so much, Gabriella barely realized he'd gone. Swallowing hard, she bit her lip and began to walk as quickly as she could out of the park. Not at all liking the fact that he had just called her his own little project.

**A/N: Ooooh and the plot thickens! I had to find a way for Troy to know Gabriella that well and I thought that would be interesting. Anyway, I hope you all enjoyed. I forgot to mention, both Taylor and Chad will be more amused by Gabriella and Troy in this than they will be plotting to break them up. So no need to worry about them doing that! **


	5. Three Speeds

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own 'High School Musical' or any related characters.**

**A/N: Okay, as I said in 'Dangerous Fascination' I'm incredibly sorry for the long wait for this chapter! My mind just hasn't been in it to write either of them! Anyway, I hope you guys enjoy this!**

_**Cat and Mouse**_

**CHAPTER 5**

**THREE SPEEDS**

Gabriella Montez was turning out to be one hell of a ride; Troy thought lazily as he killed the engine of his car and got out. It definitely was an experience just trying to understand her, but add her temper and the way she reacted to him whenever he touched her and the ride Troy had already figured wouldn't be easy had turned into one hell of rollercoaster and the rollercoaster was something he'd enjoyed the moment she'd decided to fight. As he walked towards the school, Troy wondered exactly what his next move should be and knew that whatever it was, it had to leave her off balance. For a moment, as he nodded at some girls who waved at him, Troy wondered if he should kiss her just to see what she did and then decided against it. It was too soon to do something like that, too soon to even think about kissing her the way he wanted too. Walking up the stairs, Troy walked through the doors of East High and immediately caught the basketball that flew his way.

"Dude, you weren't even paying attention!" Troy shot Chad a cool look as his friend ran over to him, incredulous as to how he'd caught the ball without even paying attention.

"Chad, its called reflex, that and you do it to me nearly every morning." He said dryly, throwing the ball back at his friend hard enough for Chad to wince when he caught it. Chad looked at Troy and then decided against mentioning Gabriella and fell in step with Troy as they headed for his locker.

"So? One morning you're not going to catch it and end up with a black eye." Chad said knowingly and Troy rolled his eyes at his friend as they came to stop by Troy's locker.

"No, I won't." Troy replied and opened his locker. Chad watched as Troy threw his bag in and stared into it for a moment.

"Dude, what are you staring at?" Chad asked when Troy still hadn't averted his gaze from his locker. Troy's eyes snapped to his and Chad raised his eyebrows at the thoughtfulness in them.

"Nothing, I was thinking," he replied and Chad shot him a disbelieving look.

"About a certain brunette?" He asked and the grin that Troy sent him was enough for Chad to confirm his guess as Troy shut his locker and leaned against it.

"Yeah." Troy said and Chad rolled his eyes at his friend.

"Does she know you always get your way one way or another?" Chad asked as Troy's eyes flicked over the students coming in through the doors and settled on Gabriella. Her eyes flicked to his and the flash that went through them had him smirking. Winking at her, Troy watched in satisfaction as her eyes snapped away from him and the half-formed smile on her face disappeared. Turning back to Chad, Troy looked at him and shrugged.

"She's going to know when I get my way, isn't she?" Troy asked with a smirk and pushed off the locker when he heard the bell ring, leaving Chad with out a doubt that whatever chance Gabriella thought she had against Troy, didn't exist at all.

Settling himself into his homeroom seat, Troy waited for Chad who had seemed a bit dazed by his answer after he had left. As he waited, he tilted his chair back and watched as the rest of the students filed, his eyes flicked over them and each of the students felt like they were being judged as they felt his eyes travel over them before they slid into their own seats. Chad walked in and sent Troy a dirty look to which Troy responded with a smirk, turning his attention from Chad, Troy's smirk grew wider when the bell rang and Gabriella ran in.

"Late Miss Montez," He said mockingly and Gabriella froze at his voice. Her head turned to his and the look of disbelief on her face had Troy's self-satisfied smirk grow even wider.

"Early Mr Bolton, what a surprise." She said sarcastically and Troy shrugged as she began to walk down the aisle created by the perfectly aligned desks, Gabriella felt the back of her knees push forward and before she knew what had happened, she'd fallen into Troy's lap, his arm banding around her waist before she could fall back even further. Grabbing his shoulders to support herself, Gabriella barely realized what had happened as she pulled herself up and found herself face to face with Troy. Their eyes connected and Gabriella froze.

"Well, well, nice of you to drop by Brie." Troy said mockingly, his eyes never leaving hers as Gabriella felt his other hand settle on her thigh.

"Oh shut it Bolton," she snapped even as she struggled to tear her eyes away from his. Troy smirked and ran his hand up from her thigh to her breast and back again. Watching as her body responded to his hand, a shadow of a smirk formed on Troy's lips and he repeated the movement.

"Why? You didn't tell me to shut it yesterday, or the day before." He inquired as Gabriella tried to fight the reaction of her body and pull away from him.

"Troy, seriously, don't." The last word came out as gasp of relief as his eyes moved from hers and then she tensed when his mouth came close to her ear.

"Don't what?" He inquired lazily dragging his hand back up, over her thigh and her stomach. Just as it reached her breast, a loud voice echoed around the room.

"Mr Bolton, Miss Montez, unless you want to give us pointers on how to seduce each other while in a classroom, I suggest Miss Montez gets to her seat!" Gabriella jerked away from Troy and would have fallen off her seat if not for his arm tight around her waist. Both of their heads turned to look at their homeroom teacher, Miss Darbus, who was watching them in what appeared to be apparent disgust. It was only then that Gabriella realized that the entire class was watching, some with apparent interest, others, most of the girls, with jealousy and their best friends with amusement. Glancing at Taylor, Gabriella narrowed her eyes as soon as Taylor looked away and the shaking of her shoulders was evident. Troy glanced at Chad and was interested enough to find his fists in his mouth in an attempt to smother laughter. What was so funny neither of them was sure of and only Gabriella seemed determined to find out.

"Miss Darbus, I would give you pointers on seducing Brie, but that would just betray some of my best kept secrets." Troy said with another lazy smirk that had Gabriella's pulse scrambling even as she shot him a dirty look.

"Your best kept secrets? Please-" Gabriella stopped short when Troy leaned back to her ear and kissed just behind it.

"You were not drunk." He whispered and Gabriella made a frustrated noise before getting up off his lap. Troy looked back and grinned at Chad as Gabriella's hand slid around his neck before trailing off, in a move that Troy knew wasn't calculated or deliberate.

Sitting down in her chair almost violently, Gabriella glared at Troy as Taylor snickered in front of her. Kicking her chair, Gabriella glared at Taylor as her friend spun around in her chair to glare at Gabriella who responded with a sickly sweet smile that had Taylor grin knowingly at her as her friend returned to glaring at Troy.

HSM-HSM-HSM-HSM-HSM

"So, that was an interesting homeroom," Chad commented as he reached Troy's locker just as his friend was shutting it. Troy looked at Chad and grinned.

"Interesting? Did you miss the other classes?" Troy asked and Chad's eyes widened at his words. Troy watched him even as his mind wandered to Gabriella's death glares, the stiffening of her body when his hand brushed against it and the whispered kisses he placed behind her ear whenever he felt like it.

"What did you do?" Chad asked and Troy shrugged as they began to walk down the hallway, Chad spinning the basketball that never left his side on his finger.

"Nothing much, don't look at me like that," Troy said when Chad raised his eyebrows at him. "I swear! I was just…teasing her." Troy said and Chad snorted.

"Troy, your definition of teasing does not coincide with anyone else's version of teasing. I hope you realize that." Chad said and Troy shrugged, even as he sent a grin to a group of girls who giggled slightly and blushed.

"Of course I know that," Troy said, his eyes latching onto something that made his grin turn into a smirk. "She just doesn't." Troy said and Chad stared after him as Troy quickened his pace and caught up with Gabriella.

Gabriella didn't say or do anything when she glanced to her left and found Troy walking on her left. She glanced at Taylor who shrugged and slowed down enough to melt into the crowd. Sending her a look of disbelief, Gabriella turned her attention to the floor and kept her eyes on it as she quickened her pace, only to find Troy right beside her.

"You know, you can go away." She snapped at him suddenly, stopping and turning to face him even though her common sense told her not to. Troy smirked down at her as she glared up at him.

"Really? Was that an order or a request?" Troy asked and Gabriella rolled her eyes at him, feeling frustrated as he took a step toward her. Gabriella took a step backwards and tilted her head even more to glare up at him.

"An order, actually," Gabriella smiled up at him sweetly. "It was an order to leave me alone period." She said and Troy chuckled, moving toward her again. Gabriella took another step back.

"Uh-huh, sure it was," Troy replied and took another step toward her. Gabriella stepped backwards and her mouth dropped open as her back hit a locker. Troy smirked down at her, as he rested one hand on either side of her head, trapping her between him and the locker. Gabriella glared at him.

"It was." She said even as he lowered his mouth towards her. Her mind flashed to the New Year's party and the feeling of his mouth on hers and for a moment she stood immobilized as she realized that maybe she wanted to kiss him again. Just as the thought flashed through her mind, Gabriella turned her head and his mouth met her ear. Bad move. Gabriella's hands flew to his hips and her fingers dug into him.

"It didn't sound like it." He whispered even as his teeth latched on her earlobe and tugged. Gabriella fought a moan and she shuddered as his lips slid down to her jaw.

"It was, God Troy," she whimpered and Troy grinned at the sound of her voice. Tilting his head, Troy's lips slid up to her other ear.

"You know that doesn't sound like an order." He whispered in her ear and Gabriella's fingers dug even deeper into his hips.

"It was. You don't always get what you want Troy." She said and Troy chuckled, eliciting a moan from her as he kissed behind her ear, his tongue lingering there for a moment.

"Of course I do Brie." He murmured as his nipped the top of her ear. Gabriella made a movement to yank her head away from his mouth and only ended up trying to pull him closer.

"Troy, if this is the game, isn't it too fast?" She breathed out as his lips trailed up her cheek and he pulled away.

"Gabriella, you'll learn that I only have three speeds," Troy said and Gabriella's half closed eyes snapped open as he smirked at her. "Stop, flat out and welcome to casualty." He said and she let go of his hips and her hands moved to his chest.

"Well, that's nice." She snapped, hiding her frantically beating pulse and the weakness of her knees by glaring at Troy ferociously. Troy's eyes gave away his amusement.

"And just to let you know Brie, I haven't even hit welcome to casualty yet," he said, reaching up and brushing away a curl. Gabriella stopped, stunned by the gentleness of his gesture. "And when I do, there'll be a bed, but we won't be in casualty." He said and left her leaning against the locker trying to catch her breath.

**A/N: That's done. Okay, I didn't mean for that last bit to happen, it just did. If it was too soon, don't worry about it. I wrote this after a huge writers block, so forgive me if its not up to standard.**


	6. Fighting A Losing Battle

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own 'High School Musical' or any related characters.**

**A/N: Okay, so next chapter of 'Cat and Mouse' is here! I'm really surprised by the reaction to this story; I didn't really think it was that good. Anyway, enjoy!**

_**Cat and Mouse**_

**CHAPTER 6**

**FIGHTING A LOSING BATTLE**

If Troy Bolton ever got that close to her again, he'd retreat in a body bag. The decision was made as soon as she'd reached her locker after the little escapade in the hall, which she tried to convince herself she hadn't enjoyed one bit. It was hard to convince herself that she didn't enjoy the way his mouth had teased her ear, or the way his lips had slid over her jaw, when she'd felt deliriously weak and had been willing to do anything for him, just as long as he _kissed_ her. It was also hard to convince herself that the fatal attraction she'd had for him, hadn't grown into some sort of feeling that went slightly deeper than anything else she'd ever felt. Frowning at her locker at the thought, Gabriella had to admit that no matter what she tried to convince herself after something like earlier had happened, there was a slight possibility that she was falling for him. She couldn't even figure out what it was about him that had her falling either. She honestly wished she could say that it was his looks or the way his mouth always knew were it was that gave her the most pleasure, but she knew it wasn't that. She had an odd feeling it was the way he always managed to have a sharp comeback, and that lazy smirk. It must have been his mind; Gabriella knew that Troy wasn't dumb. He was one of the smartest people at the school; he just never bothered to show it. Shaking her head at the thought, Gabriella shouldered her gym bag and shut her locker door forcefully.

"No, you are _not_ falling for Troy Bolton." She told herself furiously and jumped when she heard someone laugh.

"I hope not, because that wouldn't go down well with the student body." Gabriella spun to look at Taylor who was watching her friend in complete amusement. She glared at her and then rolled her eyes.

"Is that all you seriously have to say on the subject? You're the one that told me not to start anything with him!" She exclaimed and Taylor just shrugged, still very clearly amused at her friend.

"I know, but you're the one that got yourself into this mess by sleeping with him on New Years Eve," Taylor said and Gabriella groaned and rubbed her forehead with her fist.

"Why does everyone I know bring that up?" She asked furiously and Taylor laughed, linking her arm with her friends and patting it comfortingly.

"Honey, it's only me and Troy. I do it because it's funny seeing your reaction and Troy does it because its Troy and its part of this game he's started. Speaking of which, have you figured what's happening in it yet?" Taylor asked, watching as Gabriella digested the first part and then the second.

"No! It's so frustrating, because he knows exactly what's going on and has already told me that we're going to end up in a freaking bed again and-" Taylor cut her friend off as soon as she saw the flash in her friends eyes.

"And you don't want to end up there, right?" She asked and Gabriella looked at Taylor, the look speaking volumes about the question even before her friend replied.

"You're kidding me right? Taylor, just because Troy was good in bed doesn't mean I want to end up in one with him again!" Gabriella said, ignoring the looks a few students shot her at the loudness of her tone. Taylor narrowed her eyes, as the same look went through her friends eyes.

"You think." She stated and Gabriella sighed, wishing Taylor couldn't read her quite so well.

"Yeah, I think." Gabriella admitted and it was Taylor's turn to sigh at her friends words. Knowing that 'I think' meant that whatever she'd felt toward Troy before New Years, wasn't what she felt after and despite everything her friend said, her rages and complaints about the guy, there was something hidden underneath the air of annoyance she gave off toward him.

"Sweetie, you're not meant to think. You're meant to _know_, if you don't know that you don't want to end back in bed with Troy, than why are you trying to convince yourself?" Taylor asked and Gabriella shrugged.

"I do know that though Taylor! I know I don't want to end up back there with him and I know that I'm not feeling anything for him." She argued back as they walked into the girls change rooms and headed straight for a secluded corner where the other girls in their gym class wouldn't overhear.

"I never said you were feeling anything for him and by the way you just brought it up, my guess is that you're rethinking whatever you told me you felt for him." Taylor said as Gabriella pulled on some red shorts and rolled her eyes.

"I'm not! How can I feel something for him, when the deepest conversation we've had was the one we had this morning? You don't fall someone you're just physically attracted too." Gabriella told Taylor who rolled her eyes and pulled on a singlet and then a white t-shirt.

"Your not just physically attracted to him Gabriella," Taylor said, ignoring the look her friend sent her as she shook her loose her back. "You're attracted to his mind; I know you are because I saw the look on your face this morning when he had every answer to your every snap." Taylor said, pulling her own hair back in a ponytail that resembled her friends. Gabriella frowned at Taylor's, finding them too close to what she had thought earlier.

"I am not! Just because can have a fast comeback, doesn't mean he's intelligent and it definitely doesn't mean that I'm attracted to his mind as well as his looks!" She exclaimed and Taylor raised her eyebrows in disbelief at the way Gabriella was trying to convince herself and Taylor at the same time.

"Sure it doesn't, you're just annoyed that he's as smart as you and is making all the moves." Taylor said and Gabriella frowned down at her shoes as she laced them up.

"I am not. Troy can make as many freaking moves as he wants, its not going to change anything I do towards him." Gabriella said, folding her arms and waiting for Taylor as she began tying up her own shoelaces.

"No, it's just going to make you moan a little louder." She said and Gabriella huffed at the words.

"It is not! I'm not falling for him Tay, if I was, you'd be the first to know." Gabriella said and Taylor nodded somberly at the look on Gabriella's face.

"Sure. Just tell me who you're trying to convince. Me or you?" Taylor inquired and watched as Gabriella's shoulders slumped in defeat at the question and she shrugged.

"Is it far to say, I have absolutely no idea?" She replied and Taylor nodded and slipped her arm around Gabriella's shoulders as they walked out of the change room and into the gym.

Looking down the other end of the gym, Gabriella's eyes found Troy as he took a shot and the basketball swished in. He moved so gracefully, all his movements were so carefully controlled. She could tell that by the way he managed to steal the ball off the guy who had it. Looking away from him, she shrugged at Taylor, who was watching her curiously.

"You've gotta admit, he moves really well." She said and Taylor burst into laughter and shook her head at Gabriella's words as Coach Bolton walked in. Gabriella watched as he glanced down the end of the gym, where the boys in her class were playing basketball and blew his whistle. Almost immediately, the basketball was halted and all of them were paying attention to him. Glancing at the girl, Coach Bolton rolled his eyes at half of them and let the whistle fall from his lips.

"Alright, seeing as your all here now, phone away Miss Clark," a few of the boys snickered as the blonde went bright red and shoved the phone in her pocket. "I can tell you that we've finished your running unit and are moving onto a new one. Our new unit is on basketball." Gabriella's eyes widened in horror at the very idea of playing basketball and couldn't help but grimace at the looks of delight on the boys faces.

"Awesome, so coach, does that mean we can just train?" Chad yelled out and Coach Bolton rolled his eyes at the question.

"No Chad, it means that all of you have to help all of them," he gestured with his hand and Gabriella frowned. "Because we all know that you all can sink a jump-shot, isn't that right Troy?" Gabriella's eyebrows rose as Coach Bolton's voice hardened slightly as he looked at his son, who was watching his father with an impassive look.

"Of course Coach." Troy replied, his own tone cool as he met his fathers gaze levelly and spun the basketball on his finger.

"Good. Now, girls grab a ball, I'll pair you up with one of the boys and they can show you how to throw a basketball properly." Gabriella obeyed the order instantly and caught the ball that Taylor had thrown at her as she held it against her hip and waited for the coaches next instructions. She could feel Troy's eyes on her and ignored them as she and Taylor exchanged a worried glance.

"Have you all got a ball?" The girls nodded at the question and Coach Bolton turned to the boys, his eyes lingering on his son as Troy continued to watch him impassively.

"Alright," glancing down at the clipboard he was holding, Coach Bolton paired them up mentally. "Gabriella, you're with Troy." Gabriella's mouth dropped open at the pairing and she made a face at the Coaches back as Taylor sent her a sympathetic look. She glanced at Troy and wondered why he hadn't reacted the way she'd expected him too. "Gabriella, you and Troy can go to the outside courts. _Now_." Muttering something under her breath, Gabriella walked past the coach and towards Troy, who barely looked at her as he turned around and headed for the outdoor courts.

Gabriella followed him, not at all surprised that they _had_ outdoor basketball courts. Catching the door Troy banged open, Gabriella looked at Troy and wondered what was wrong as she let the door shut and continued to follow him. He really hadn't seemed like Troy in the gym, especially when his father had spoken to him. Swallowing slightly as she walked out into the sunshine, Gabriella looked at Troy as he stopped on the court and turned to her.

"Alright, do you know _anything_ about basketball?" He asked looking at her with the same impassive face.

"Uh, the ball goes into the hoop and you score two points?" Gabriella said and expected at least a smirk from him. She was stunned when all he did was roll his eyes at her words, bouncing the ball he held on the concrete, Troy turned and shot it into the hoop, turning back to her when it bounced onto the concrete.

"Did you see what I just did?" He asked and Gabriella's shoulders dropped at his emotionless tone.

"Shot a ball through a hoop?" She replied and Troy rubbed a hand over his face and motioned for her to come closer. Gabriella hesitated before obeying.

"Okay, face the hoop," he said and Gabriella did as she was told. "Okay, hold the ball up here, just past your nose," Gabriella followed the instructions, imitating the way she'd seen him do it. "Alright, you've got that, now this hand is your guiding hand, it won't do anything, just let it rest there." He said and Gabriella nodded, relaxing the hand on the side of the ball.

"Okay, what now?" She asked as Troy moved her body to face the hoop at a straighter angle.

"Bend your knees and shoot." Gabriella bent her knees and just as she was about to shoot, a chuckle was heard.

"Your doing it wrong Miss Montez." Gabriella dropped the ball in fright at the sound of Coach Bolton's voice; she heard Troy swear under his breath and turned to the Coach.

"But Troy said-" he cut her off before she could finish the sentence.

"Oh don't worry about Troy; he doesn't know what he's doing." The laugh in the Coach's voice had Gabriella cringing.

"I was doing what you've told me to do for the past twelve years Dad." Troy said heatedly and Gabriella saw Coach Bolton's eyes flash in warning towards his son.

"And I'm saying you've been doing it wrong." He said and Troy clenched his fist, Gabriella swallowed slightly as Troy took a step closer to his father.

"Well then, you must have taught me wrong. Because last time I checked, I was doing it right." Troy shot at his father and Coach Bolton rolled his eyes at his sons tone.

"Watch your tone, young man; I'm your father as well as your teacher." Coach Bolton snapped and it was Troy's turn to roll his eyes.

"Yeah, thanks for reminding me." Troy snapped and Gabriella watched as Coach Bolton's fist clenched and unclenched, almost as if itching to sink itself into the side of his sons face.

"I need to go back inside." Gabriella let out a breath she didn't know she'd been holding as Coach Bolton left and she felt Troy relax slightly. Turning around to face him, Gabriella was shocked at the fury in his eyes.

"Sorry about that." Troy muttered and moved away from her to grab the basketball that was lying a few feet away. Gabriella frowned as she watched him pick up the ball and squeeze it tightly, the sudden urge to comfort taking over her.

"Are you guys always like that?" She asked softly and Troy shrugged, still not look facing her.

"Probably. The only time we're not is when Mom's around." He said bitterly and Gabriella felt her heart break slightly at the bitterness in his voice. It wasn't breaking for her, but breaking for him. It was an odd experience to feel something like that for someone she was trying to convince she wasn't falling for.

"Oh." Troy turned back around to face her and Gabriella saw the fierce anger in his eyes and moved closer. Before he could step away, she reached up and touched his face, her fingers finding the dark hair around his ear as her palm rested against his cheek. Instead of pulling away from her the way Gabriella expected him too, Troy leaned into her touch, closing his eyes briefly at it.

As he did it, Gabriella felt a rush of some warm, wonderful emotion at the vulnerability in him as he reopened his eyes. This side of Troy was something so different from the one that had pinned her to lockers, so wonderfully different. Moving closer, she leaned up to his lips and before they could touch he pulled away and her hand slid off his face.

"Don't Gabriella." He said at the look of surprise on her face. She just stared as he dropped the basketball, shoved his hands in his pockets and walked away. Leaving her standing there, the hand that had touched his cheek clenched tightly in a fist as she watched his retreating figure. As she watched him go she suddenly realized she was fighting a losing battle with herself, whether she wanted to or not, she was feeling something very real for Troy.

**A/N: Hmm, so what'd we all think? I'm not too sure, I had to introduce a side of Troy that wasn't all smart aleck or bad boy and I needed Gabriella to see what it was like between him and his Dad. Oh well, as long as you all enjoyed, that's the main thing!**


	7. A Little Too Real

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own 'High School Musical' or any related characters.**

**A/N: So, I got a pretty good reaction to vulnerable Troy. I enjoyed adding another layer to his character; it was like adding a depth nobody was prepared for. Oh yeah, and anyone remember Greg? If you don't, I'd advise you to go back and read the first chapter.**

_**Cat and Mouse**_

**CHAPTER 7**

**A LITTLE TOO REAL**

He'd been completely vulnerable to her and she hadn't kicked him while he was down. The fact that she hadn't done something to him while he was like that surprised him, the reality of her comforting him after a spat with his father, stunned him. He wasn't sure what to make of the fact that she had wanted to comfort him, anymore than of the way he had pulled away when she had leaned up to kiss him. He didn't want to admit it, but Troy knew that if she had kissed him, he would have cracked. There had been something about the way she had touched his face that had made him want to bury his face in the curve of her neck and hide there until it all went away. The urge, completely bizarre and unwelcome, had taken him by surprise and Troy hadn't been sure what to make of it as he'd leaned into her touch. Instead, he'd ignored and fought it back as she'd leaned up to kiss him. For a split second as she'd stretched up, Troy had to admit that the thought of having her slim body pressed up against his was as appealing as the thought of having her hold him…until he hadn't wanted her. It confused even him, hadn't he been aiming to fall back into bed with her ever since he'd gotten a taste of what she could offer? Hadn't he been aiming for her to be his victim in the game of cat and mouse he'd been orchestrating ever since they had returned to school? If he had, why hadn't he allowed her to kiss him when she'd obviously been so willing? What the hell had happened in those moments when he'd been vulnerable to her? With a sound of frustration, Troy spun his basketball on his finger as he headed to the park courts.

It made absolutely no sense to him, no matter what angle he examined it from. He couldn't figure it out; he'd even been contemplating kissing her that morning and when she'd wanted too, _she_ had wanted too, he hadn't been able to do it. Groaning, Troy barely acknowledged his teammates when they shouted out in greeting. For a moment, he wondered exactly what would have happened if he had let her kiss him, wondered if he really would have cracked the way he had figured he would and then pushed the whole subject from his mind when Chad bounded over.

"Dude, if you were any slower it'd be tomorrow!" He exclaimed, grabbing the basketball off his friend and slinging an arm around his shoulders. Troy rolled his eyes at Chad's exaggeration and allowed himself a small chuckle.

"Sure, whatever you say dude." Troy said and Chad was the one that laughed at the comment.

"So, before we go over and kick whichever teammates were playing butts, are you ever going to tell me what happened between you and Gabriella today?" Chad asked and raised his eyebrows as Troy's eyes darkened slightly at the question.

"Sure…when I want too." Troy replied coolly and shrugged off Chad's arm, grabbing the basketball and jogging over to the court. Slapping hands with some of his teammates and laughing when a few of them teased him about being late.

"So, who's playing who?" Troy asked, glancing around and narrowing his eyes when he noticed one of his team missing.

"Half and half, only you and Chad have to be on different teams." Troy glanced at Zeke, a tall, burly African-American boy who just shrugged at the look in his captain's eyes before catching the ball Chad had thrown at him.

"Fine, you guys know you're going to get your butts whipped though, right?" Troy asked with a grin and Zeke shook his head as the team finished splitting themselves.

"You wish," came Zeke's reply. Troy chuckled and caught the ball Zeke threw at him. Bouncing it on the court, Troy watched lazily as Zeke's team set themselves up in the practiced defense position. Glancing around him, he noted all of the people on his own team setting themselves up around the court and grinned. He wasn't going to use any of them just yet. Walking forward, the bouncing basketball a taunt that seemed to make the opposition nervous Troy waited as for Jason Cross to come out of position and attempt to grab the ball. Walking closer a few steps, Troy grinned when Jason attempted to push the ball out of his control as it bounced back up to it. He was a second too slow, and Troy bounced the basketball to his other hand and was past Jason within two seconds. Seeing Zeke make a movement towards him as soon as he was in the key, Troy caught the ball as it bounced up and shot. The satisfied swishing of the net making Zeke groan and Troy grin.

"Told you you'd be whipped. Jason," Troy's tone became hard as Jason turned towards him. "Never hesitate when it comes to getting the ball. You hesitate; you allow your opponent time to figure out how to get around you. There's no time to think about what he's going to do, you go for the ball. You hesitate in the game against West High and that's a basket." Jason flinched at Troy's harsh tone and nodded his head.

"Sure Troy." He muttered, ignoring the way the rest of the team stood silently as Troy spoke and some shot him looks.

"Has anyone seen Henderson?" Troy suddenly asked; his eyes scanning his teammates as they all stood silently. A few of them exchanged glances at the question, but no-one responded as Troy's face became harder. "Let me repeat myself, has anyone seen Henderson?" The question rang over the basketball court as Troy waited for an answer.

"No. Henderson didn't come back to school after winter vacation." Chad spoke up and Troy's eyes grew dark at the answer.

"Anyone spoken to him?" He asked and Chad shrugged, not really sure of the answer as he saw everyone else shake their heads at the question.

"Maybe you scared him off," Chad said and Troy raised his eyebrows. "Troy, you beat the guy up at the New Year's party, I wouldn't want to come back if it was me." He said and Troy just shook his head.

"Whatever." He muttered and Chad just rolled his eyes, before shaking his head at his Jason when he opened his mouth to ask about Troy beating Greg up, immediately Jason's mouth closed as Troy's eyes took on an edge.

"Well, well, well, what do we have here?" An amused voice floated in through the team and Chad suddenly understood the edge in Troy's eyes as he saw the rest of the team tense up at the snickers that followed the voice.

"Reynolds, isn't this a little bit out of your territory?" Chad was the one that spoke as he watched Troy's face become darker and darker as Chad turned to face the speaker and snickers.

"Yeah it is Danforth, but I figure, why not find out if the Wildcats are any good?" Andrew Reynolds brown eyes flicked over the boys standing on the court before settling on the one that was standing just behind them and watching him through insanely cold blue eyes.

"Your worried about us, aren't you Reynolds?" Troy asked quietly, his voice laced with menace that had even had his team stepping back.

"Why would I be worried about a team that we've beaten before?" He scoffed, shooting a grin to the boys that stood behind him.

"Why would you be here if you didn't?" Troy replied just as quietly, stepping closer to the captain of the West High basketball team, his eyes gleaming with the menace that had laced his voice before.

"I'm not here to check out competition Bolton, I know we're going to beat you, Cross over there proves it," Andrew watched in satisfaction as Jason's hand formed a knuckle but missed the muscle in Troy's jaw that twitched. "I'm here to introduce you to our new team member. I'm sure you remember Greg Henderson." Troy's eyes became even darker as Greg Henderson appeared out of the group of boys standing behind Andrew, his temper flaring slightly as his eyes swept over the slowly receding blue and purple bruise on his jaw.

"Henderson…nice bruise." The tightly controlled smirk warned everyone just where this was headed and Troy ignored the way some of his teammates nudged each other and began to back away from the scene.

"You like it? I can't really remember getting it though." The taunt was there and Chad moved too stand a little closer to Troy whose face as completely unemotional, save his eyes. Which had gotten darker and darker as Greg spoke.

"Can't you? Do I need to refresh your memory?" Troy asked slowly, almost lazily as he looked at Greg, who had missed the way Troy's muscle in his jaw twitched, the way his new captain had.

"Would you? I remember this girl, her name was Gabrielle? Or was it Gabriella?" Greg asked and Troy ignored the quick glance Chad sent him as his blood slowly began to boil at the mention of her.

"Gabriella." Troy answered quietly and Greg nodded as if satisfied as his new teammates snickered behind him. Andrew standing off to the side as he watched his newest teammate rile up the captain of the biggest threat to their championship.

"Right," Greg drew out the word, smirking when he saw Troy's hands curl into a ball. "Well, I remember her and I seem to remember having a really good time with her until you showed up. Care to tell me what happened after that?" Greg's smirk faded slightly when he saw the look on Troy's face. He'd had a bad feeling in his gut when Andrew had suggested going to show his old team exactly where he had gone off too and the feeling turned into a stomach roll when Troy stepped towards him.

"Don't you remember? I knocked you out." Troy said his tone light and casual a frightening contrast to his eyes.

"Really? I don't remember that, what I do remember is thinking how much fun it would be if I screwed Gabriella." As soon as the words left his mouth, everyone standing on the court knew he'd taken it too far. Before anyone could move or even think, Troy had Greg by the collar as he stumbled from the blow that no-one had seen coming. Almost immediately, Chad stepped in as Andrew went to yank Greg out of Troy's grip, Zeke grabbed the arm of a West High player and twisted it up behind his back as Jason gripped another one in a headlock. Lifting Greg up of the ground, a trickle of blood running from his mouth, Troy's face was cold and dangerous as Greg struggled to escape his grasp.

"I seem to recall telling you that if you ever pull something like what you did to Gabriella at the party again, you'd better hope that someone up there likes you right?" Troy asked softly. When Greg didn't reply, Troy dropped him to the ground and another blow to the side of his face ensued before Troy pulled him back up to eyelevel.

"Right." Greg managed and Troy worked his jaw in a circle before looking him dead in the eye.

"I'm going to add something else, if you _ever_ touch, look or even think about Gabriella Montez and I find out? You'll need to do a hell of a lot more than hope someone up there likes you. You're going to have to make sure someone does otherwise they'll find you in a hole, dead and buried. Am I clear?" The threat was heard by everyone and Chad, Jason and Zeke exchanged a glance at it. None of them had ever heard Troy become so protective of a girl before, none of the girls Troy had been after, or with, had ever warranted such a reaction from Troy, a reaction that proved that whatever he thought, he cared about the girl a lot more than intended.

"Fine. Okay. You're clear." Greg managed the sentence weakly and Troy dropped him to the ground, his eyes cold as Greg straightened up. In the split second where Troy was trying to control his emotions, Greg aimed a punch and, before Troy could react, had landed it. Pain shot through the side of his face, as Troy took a step backward, looking at Greg, who was smirking proudly, his temper blazed. Before Greg could even consider the consequences of the blow, Troy's fist was back in his face, the blow nearly knocking him off his feet. Troy stared at him in disgust as he watched Greg hold a hand to his face and wince when it touched the tender flesh.

"Pathetic Henderson. I thought you'd be a better fight sober." He spat and Greg stared at him as Troy stumbled sideways. Whipping his head around, Troy saw Andrew smirking as Chad got up off the ground. Without thought, Troy had Andrew by the collar and was looking him dead in the eye.

"Get. Your. Team. Out." Troy breathed, the threat in his eyes promising pain as he ignored the trickle of blood that ran down his face. Andrew stared at him, suddenly realizing Troy was struggling to control the temper he was famous for. Curtly he nodded.

"Fine. We're gone." He said and barely maintained his balance when Troy shoved him away. Zeke and Jason let their captives go as they watched the West High Knights, leave the courts.

"Go home. Someone will have seen us." Troy said and the three of them nodded leaving the courts apprehensively glancing around the park in search of any authority that could get them into trouble.

Troy ran a hand through his hair, before leaving the courts after them. The temper that had spun out of control as soon as Gabriella was mentioned, fighting him as he tried to control it. _Gabriella_. How the hell could her name have riled him up so much that he'd lost it? That had never happened before, normally he was so in control when it came to something like this. Normally, Andrew Reynolds would have left the court limping. But no, as soon as she was mentioned something had come over him. He hadn't even realized it until now, as soon as Gabriella was mention there had been an instant need to protect, an instant need to ensure her safety from Henderson than anything else that had went through his mind. He would never admit it, but the need to protect her, even though she wasn't there, scared him. He'd never had a need like that before, never thought anyone could threaten something he was sure he didn't care about that much. Only this proved he cared, he cared a lot more about her than he'd bargained for.

Running a hand through his hair, Troy thought back to the way he had leaned into her touch and knew that he'd cared then. He'd cared then, he just hadn't known he had and when she'd leaned up to kiss him, unknowingly offering comfort that he'd never really had before, the fact that he'd cared about her had been the reason he'd stopped her. Because something, quite possibly his rarely evoked conscience, had told him that if he kissed her now, he would regret it. Regret kissing her when she was as vulnerable as him, because he always recovered quickly from spats with his father and he would have recovered even though he'd known he would have cracked. He would have recovered and used her kissing him against her and his conscience had had the foresight to see that. Turning a corner, his mind continuing to try and figure out the confusing mess it had concocted, Troy ran into someone.

"Whoa…watch where your going!" He exclaimed heatedly, catching them even as he spoke. Looking down, Troy's eyes widened when the person he saw in the fading light was Gabriella.

"Sorry. But to be fair, you weren't paying attention either." She snapped at him, her eyes narrow and annoyed. Troy shrugged and then raised his eyebrows when her eyes widened.

"What's wrong?" He asked forcing the thoughts about her out of his head as she reached up to touch the side of his face. Troy stilled as soon as her fingers came in contact with his skin, they were soft as she trailed her fingers upwards and then he winced.

"You're bleeding." She said softly and he nodded sarcastically.

"Thanks for the update." He snapped and Gabriella sighed as she looked at him, even in the fading light she could tell that he was annoyed about something. Without thought, she reached for his hand and began pulling him down the street.

"It feels deep." She said and Troy just stared at her as she continued to pull him down the pathway. He glanced around and his eyes settled on a power pole that he was somewhat familiar with. Smirking as the last of his temper faded, Troy pulled Gabriella back to him.

"Nice power pole." He said into her ear and knew she blushed as she stopped for a split second and looked at it. Troy could tell she was remembering what had been done up against it and was about to say something more when she pulled him up the pathway to her dark house. "Uh, Gabriella, what are you doing?" Troy asked as she opened the door. She barely glanced behind her as she tugged him into her house and into the kitchen.

"Cleaning you up." Troy felt something in his stomach clench at her words, something that had to do with what he had been thinking before he'd run into her and something he was sure to do with the unfamiliar sensation of someone wanting to look after him.

"Uh, you don't have too." He said and raised his eyebrows when she sent him a look that he couldn't quite interpret.

"Troy, I'm pretty sure that if you go home bleeding from the head, it won't take your parents long to put two and two together." She said and Troy nodded in reluctant agreement at her words as she pushed him into a stool that sat by the bench.

"I never got to see this part of your house." He suddenly commented, smirking when she blushed.

"I know." She said quietly, moving to stand between his legs as she examined the side of his face again. His smirk faded as he examined her face, his eyes sweeping down over the high cheek bones, and smooth cheeks that led to the soft mouth that had almost touched his own. A frustrated sound escaped him as he realized his thoughts had led back to that moment where she'd leaned up to him. He ignored the look she gave him and forced his mind away from the thought. Instead, he returned to concentrating on Gabriella who was now standing between his legs. Seeing a soaked tissue in her hand, Troy raised his eyebrows.

"Disinfectant?" He asked dryly and she nodded, her eyes flicked over his face carefully before she decided to speak.

"It might sting." He watched in dry amusement as she cringed when the words left her mouth.

"It wouldn't be disinfectant without the sting." He replied and smirked when she chose not to respond. Keeping his eyes on her face, Troy chose to ignore the way her hand lifted to his forehead, stroking his hair out of the way before resting it there. He sat up a little straighter as she lifted the hand holding the tissue and brought it to his face, stopping for a second as he slipt his arms around her waist, one hand dangerously close to her backside, before dabbing the cut on his cheekbone.

He winced. Whatever disinfectant she was using, it hurt a hell of a lot more than the one he usually used. To distract himself, he ran a hand down to her knee and back up again, hearing her breathing hitch slightly as she concentrated on cleaning the cut. His eyes never left her face as he repeated the movement and watched as her eyes darkened as his hand slowly slid back up. There was something there, in her eyes, which he hadn't seen before, something he wasn't quite sure what to make of. The hand that had been cleaning his cut, slipped from his face and her arm encircled his neck as the hand on his forehead slid down to his cheek. Troy had stopped thinking the moment he had seen something in her eyes that he hadn't seen before and some part of him knew that if he had been thinking, the tension and intensity in the room would have disappeared with a smart comment to ward of something like this happening. If he had been thinking. Instead, he pulled her closer, feeling the hand she had on his cheek slide to weave itself in his hair as his lips found hers.

He kissed her slowly, lingering over her taste as his hand ran up her back and down again. The hand tangled in his hair tightened as he took her deeper, his mind blank as he felt her melt into him. For the moment, everything that had happened that day, his fathers mocking, Greg's taunts and the confusion he'd felt because of her, faded as she pressed close. For just a moment, there was nothing but the feel and taste of Gabriella as he stood to bring her as close to him as possible and then it all rushed back. The taunts, the mocking, the fight and the reality that however deep he'd figured his feelings for her ran, they ran a hell of a lot deeper than he'd figured. His arms fell away from her waist and he shoved his hands in his pockets as her arms slipped from around him.

"Troy? I – what's wrong?" She asked, her eyes shining with confusion and hurt that he hadn't been prepared for. Troy swallowed before speaking.

"I've got to go. I'll see you around Brie." He said forcing himself to keep his voice steady as the confusion in her eyes deepened. Making a break for the door, Troy found himself outside within a second. Closing his eyes, he swore under his breath before controlling the emotions that had gone into a tailspin when he'd seen the hurt in her eyes. What had just happened in that kitchen, the kiss, the realization his feelings ran deeper than he'd thought, everything. That had all been a little too real for him.

**A/N: Hmm, so I'm not quite sure about this chapter. Personally, I don't know whether to love it or hate it. Maybe it was a bit too fast. I'm not sure, I really don't know. It was definitely to get the story moving though. I hope someone enjoyed it!**


	8. Never Happened

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own 'High School Musical' or any related characters.**

**A/N: Okay, so just in case I haven't said this, but 'Out Of My Element' is going to be the least updated story of mine. I want to take it slow and see how I go with it, I'm working on the new chapter, but I want to figure out how to write what's going to happen next perfectly before I post it. So, please, please, try not to rush me with it!**

_**Cat and Mouse**_

**CHAPTER 8**

**NEVER HAPPENED**

She was annoyed, frustrated and all she wanted to do was curl up in a tiny ball and cry. She couldn't even begin to fathom what had happened between them and she knew that if she dwelt on it, she would burst into tears as soon as she tried. So she satisfied herself by ignoring him, the way he was ignoring her and it _hurt_. Out of all the things Gabriella hated at the current moment, she hated the fact that the way he was ignoring her hurt and steadily, ever since he had pulled away from her, the hurt and confusion she felt had grown stronger. She just didn't understand any of it, was it part of the game that was happening between them? Was it something he had planned out from the moment he'd run into her or was it completely unplanned, something that had been spontaneous, a way to get her more off-balance than she already was? The questions circled her head and Gabriella groaned and buried her face in the pillow she was curled around. She didn't care, she didn't want answers and she _really_ didn't want anything to do with Troy Bolton as of now. Feeling tears threaten at the thought, Gabriella pushed them away, knowing that whatever she thought she wanted, wasn't what she actually did. Because if she thought about what she really wanted, she knew that it would be one thing and one thing only. She wanted Troy Bolton and after what had happened in her kitchen, she knew she wasn't going to get what she wanted. Troy, if he knew what she wanted, didn't want the same thing. He wanted to get her back into bed and that was it and Gabriella discovered, to her horror, that the thought hurt her even more than the way he had pulled away from her. Because she didn't just want to fall back into bed with him, she wanted to be able to hold his hand as they walked, fall asleep on his shoulder, lean against him at school when she was tired, she wanted to be the other half of Troy.

This time when tears threatened, Gabriella let them fall. God, why did she want that? Why did she want to be with Troy? Why couldn't she have picked some normal guy that wouldn't kiss behind her ear to tease her or run a hand down her leg when she walked past? Why did she have to pick someone who had so many layers she didn't know where to begin? Sniffling slightly, Gabriella wiped her eyes with the edge of the pillowcase and hugged the pillow tighter, ignoring the way her stomach grumbled as more tears fell. She wished she hadn't seen Troy vulnerable, and she really wished she hadn't responded to those flashes of gentleness that always had her responding. Hearing her door open, Gabriella swallowed slightly, wiping her face furiously with her pillowcase before sitting up and turning to face the person that walked in. Seeing Taylor, her shoulders slumped and she reached behind her for the pillow, which she hugged to her stomach again. For a moment, she watched Taylor, seeing that her friend wasn't sure where to start.

"Um, I brought you the work you missed." Taylor said and if she hadn't been feeling horrible, Gabriella probably would have laughed at the awkward way Taylor spoke. Instead she gave her an appreciative smile.

"Thanks. How was school?" She asked and Taylor seemed to relax slightly at the topic, moving more into the room to study Gabriella.

"Pretty good, everyone wanted to know where you were." Taylor said and Gabriella snorted at the words, wondering why her heart leapt at them.

"Sure they did. Who asked?" She asked and Taylor moved over to sit beside her friend.

"Chad. He wanted to know if you knew what was up with…" Taylor's words faded at the way Gabriella's eyes suddenly filled with tears, even though Gabriella ducked her head in an attempt to hide them.

"Um, I –" Gabriella broke off, unsure why she couldn't continue as Taylor sat down beside her.

"So something happened huh?" Taylor asked gently, knowing full well that if she was amused by what her best friend was going to say, she might as well hand herself a death sentence.

"Yeah. I guess you could say that." Gabriella said, looking at the pillow as Taylor shifted beside her.

"What?" Gabriella glanced at her friend when she asked. Shrugging, she returned her gaze to the pillow and squeezed it a bit tighter.

"He kissed me." Taylor shot up from her position on Gabriella bed when she spoke. Turning to look at Gabriella, her mouth open, Gabriella smiled weakly at the look, unsure what it meant.

"He what? Troy actually kissed you? As in on the mouth?" Taylor asked looking shocked. Gabriella nodded, wary of her friends tone and the way she was staring at her.

"As in on the mouth. We were in the kitchen, I was cleaning a cut he'd obtained on his face and I don't know the mood change I guess. I was concentrating, he," Gabriella shivered slightly as she remembered the way his hand had slid to her knee and back. "Was running his hand to my knee and back. I sort of enjoyed it and then, all of sudden, his eyes were so dark and my arm was around his neck as he kissed me and it was so intense and God, Taylor, the way he kissed me…" Gabriella trailed off as her mind wandered to the slow kiss that had made her melt. Taylor studied her friend intently and raised her eyebrows when she saw Gabriella's fingers absently run over her lips.

"So," Taylor drew out the word as Gabriella snapped out of her reverie, "Troy kissed you and then?" She asked and Gabriella frowned at the tone of her voice, it was so demanding.

"And then he pulled away and left. Like he had done something wrong or I had done something wrong and now-" Taylor cut Gabriella off as she saw the look in her eyes. The hurt mingled with confusion that didn't surprise her.

"And now you're wondering whether or not it was part of the game he's been playing with you, am I right?" She asked and Gabriella shrugged, looking away from Taylor when she saw the flash of sympathy in Taylor's eyes.

"I guess. Who runs out like that Taylor? He had to have known that he could have screwed me in the kitchen when he felt me…melt," Gabriella hesitated slight over the word and then continued. "I mean, the way he kissed me, I wouldn't have stopped him. God, Taylor, he just _left_ and I felt like such an idiot when he walked out, I felt like I had done something wrong or I'd made the wrong move or _something_." Gabriella said and Taylor forced away the smile that had tried to escape her as she connected what her friend had just said to what Chad had told her about Troy.

"Or maybe you made a move that forced Troy to reexamine his feelings for you." She said softly and let out a slight laugh at the way Gabriella nearly fell of the bed when she processed the sentence.

"What? Oh no, Troy doesn't have feelings for me, wouldn't I know if he did?" Gabriella asked, her eyes widening at the look on Taylor's face as Taylor watched her passively, her eyes dark and slightly amused.

"No," Taylor said and Gabriella frowned at her words. "Why would you know? Chad said that Troy's as confused about it as you are. From what you've told me, Troy has feelings for you, because as you so helpfully pointed out, if Troy knew he could screw in your kitchen why did he walk out? I would say that Troy has feelings for you that sprung up when he felt you 'melt', he would have panicked and not known what to do." Taylor said and Gabriella scoffed at her friends words.

"Troy doesn't have any deep-" Taylor interrupted Gabriella before she could continue.

"He beat Greg Henderson up again for saying he wanted to screw you at the party that started it all and then he threatened him, something along the lines that if he thought about you he'd kill him. Something to that effect anyway." Taylor informed her and Gabriella's eyes widened even more as she stared at Taylor. Her mind processing what Taylor had just told her.

"He did not." She whispered and Taylor nodded somberly, wondering why her best friend looked so pale.

"He did. Chad was there and he relayed what happened to him. Apparently Troy just lost it when he heard your name." Taylor said and jumped slightly when Gabriella threw away her pillow and raced towards her closet.

"What are you doing?" Taylor asked curiously, as Gabriella rummaged through her closet, looking for a jacket as she glanced back at her friend.

"I need to talk to Troy." Gabriella replied, finding a fleece hoodie and pulling it over her head. Shutting her closet doors, Gabriella turned around to look at Taylor, who was watching her as if she was crazy.

"Wait, what? Gabriella you've been ignoring Troy for the past couple of days and as soon as you find out he snapped when he heard your name, you want to talk to him? Why?" Taylor asked incredulous and Gabriella just shook her head.

"It's hard to explain. Look, I'll talk to you later alright? I've got my keys, so can you lock the front door?" Without waiting for an answer Gabriella headed out of her room, something swirling inside her as she ran down the staircase and out the front door.

She needed to hear what Taylor said from him. She wanted to hear him say that he'd lost it when Greg Henderson had said her name. She wanted to know if the reason that Troy had walked out was because of what Taylor had said, that maybe he cared and she wanted to see him again. Even if he ignored her, Gabriella didn't care as she turned a corner. She just…needed to know. She needed to find out if it was the reason he'd been bleeding when she'd crashed into him, she needed to know that if it was part of the reason he had pulled away from her. Turning into his street, Gabriella wondered briefly what had happened to the girl that had been sobbing on minutes before because she had been hurt and frustrated and didn't care as she found herself in front of Troy's house. Looking at it, Gabriella bit her lip when she saw his car parked in the driveway. For a moment, she wondered if she really should be doing what she was and then took a deep breath. She had to know. She had to know, because Greg Henderson had started it all and she wanted to know if he was the one that was going to continue it. Walking up the path that led to his house, Gabriella got a sense of déjà vu as she knocked on the door. The feeling increased as Troy's mother answered the door and her eyes widened as she recognized her.

"Hi, uh Mrs Bolton, is Troy home?" Gabriella said her voice steady as the she nodded. "Can I see him please?" Gabriella asked and Mrs Bolton nodded again, a calculating look entering her eyes as she looked at the girl.

"Of course, I'll just get him." Gabriella sighed in relief as she watched Troy's mother disappear into the depths of the house. Folding her arms tightly, Gabriella waited as she heard a muffled thump and then Troy's voice as he appeared in the hallway. He froze completely when he saw her and Gabriella felt a twinge of worry as his mother forced him out the door and slammed it. For the first time ever, Gabriella wondered how she looked and then pushed the thought aside as she looked up at Troy, who seemed to be recovering from his initial shock of seeing her and working up amusement.

"Greg Henderson." Gabriella barely whispered the name and she watched in astonishment as Troy's eyes darkened menacingly.

"What about him?" Troy snapped and Gabriella stepped towards him, feeling slightly more insecure as he looked at her.

"D-did you get into a fight with him a couple of day's ago?" She asked softly, swallowing slightly as his eyes darkened even more. She saw his jaw set and knew she had to be careful, knew she had to be very careful how much she pushed.

"Yes." Gabriella closed her eyes briefly at the cold tone of his voice and then looked him directly in the eye, more afraid than she wanted to admit at how incredibly dangerous he looked.

"Was the fight about me?" Her voice trembled slightly and Gabriella felt her confidence drop at the way his eyes turned cool at her words. There was silence as he studied her; Gabriella began to wonder if he was going to answer her question at all when he let out a sigh, running a hand through his already disheveled hair as he did so.

"Yeah it was." He admitted reluctantly and stumbled slightly when Gabriella threw her arms around his neck and brought his lips down to hers. She knew his response to the kiss was automatic, she was well aware his hands found her hips as he responded to her kiss, his response to it as automatic as the way he turned them to press her up against the door as the kiss deepened.

Gabriella knew, even before his lips descended on hers again, the moment he'd given her to breathe a millisecond, that what was happening would probably make things worse between them. She was well aware that she would feel just as hurt and confused as she had earlier when she walked away from him and she knew that she only had a few moments to savor being this close to Troy before he regained control of himself. Her hand fisted in his hair as she pressed closer and she registered Troy's hand finding its way under her shirt as he kissed his way from her mouth to the curve of her neck, burying his face there when he reached his destination. Gabriella buried her own face in his neck as they clung to each other, the suddenness of this new level between them forcing them to hold onto each other as they tried to grasp what had happened. He'd fought for her, protected her even though he wasn't going to call her his anytime soon and she'd come to find out, to show him her appreciation. It was as simple as that and yet, Gabriella knew that it ran deep. What he'd done and now, what she'd done ran deeper than either of them could understand and they both knew it as he raised his head from the curve of her neck. Gabriella pulled away to look at him, the hand in his hair relaxing as she realized at the moment, he was as vulnerable as she was. For a moment nothing was said and then he spoke.

"This doesn't change anything." Gabriella nodded at the words, letting her arm slip from behind his neck to brush away some hair that was in his eyes. She let her fingers trail down to his lips and smiled slightly when he kissed them.

"I know it doesn't." She whispered and he let out a breath, letting his forehead drop to rest on hers. The intimacy in the move had Gabriella's breathing hitch as his eyes locked on hers.

"Give me some time Brie. Let me play the game." Troy said and Gabriella's hand tangled in his hair again at his words.

"Okay." She said and Troy leaned forward to brush his lips against hers, knowing that this needed to last because as soon as they returned to school on Monday, it wouldn't have happened at all.

"This doesn't have anything to do with the game. On Monday, this didn't happen at all." Troy said and Gabriella nodded, suddenly realizing that Troy didn't know how to handle what had just happened.

"It didn't happen, I know that." Gabriella said and Troy pulled her closer, Gabriella yielded against him willing, wanting this to never end as he kissed her forehead.

"I'm sorry, baby, I'm sorry it has to be like this." Troy whispered against her forehead and Gabriella's lips curved into a smile at what he had called her. Closing her eyes, Gabriella tightened her arms around him, standing for a few moments, and his lips against her forehead, his arms tight around her and then she reluctantly pulled away.

"I have to go." She said softly and Troy nodded, his arms falling away as he backed away from her. Gabriella slipt past him and turned around to look at him, Troy smiled at her sadly, knowing she would need an explanation later. Gabriella smiled back and then turned around to run down the porch stairs, fresh tears threatening as she realized that when she woke up tomorrow everything that had just happened between them, the new level, the kisses, his gentleness and care, all it, never happened.

**A/N: So, who's confused? Hehe, aren't I mean? Something big just happened and none of you have any idea why it never happened. In case someone asks, no Gabriella isn't dreaming, it'll all be explained in the next chapter, I needed something drastic to happen between the two and this just made sense, in a very warped way to me anyway.**


	9. Game To Test

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own 'High School Musical' or any related characters.**

**A/N: I have to say, it was very interesting reading a lot of your reviews. They were mixed and I actually laughed out loud at a couple of them. I hope the reason I'm going to give isn't too cliché, I have this weird feeling it might be. Anyway, enjoy!!**

_**Cat and Mouse**_

**CHAPTER 9**

**GAME TO TEST**

It didn't change anything. He wouldn't let it change anything. He wouldn't let her fall into the trap of believing that what had happened would magically change everything between them. He _couldn't_ let her fall into that trap. He needed to play the game, he needed to be sure she could handle him; he needed to be sure she could handle everything that came with him before he pulled her to him and never let go. He needed to play the game for her to understand. She didn't know that of course. She had no understanding of the fact that everything that had happened between them had been calculated; she had no idea that he'd been maneuvering her ever since she'd woken up the day after New Years and he knew she had no idea that the real purpose of the game wasn't just to fall back into bed with her and screw her senseless again, but to make sure that he could do that and everything else that would come with her being the object of his affections. It had been going so well too, she'd become so easy to maneuver, as coldhearted as it sounded, she'd become willing, too, after a point and then he'd almost screwed it up. The fight with Henderson in the park would have probably been the best move he could have made, _if_ he'd planned it. The way he'd kissed her in the kitchen, would have been a perfect move too, _if _he'd planned that as well and finally, what had happened on his porch would have topped them all, again, _if_ he'd planned it. They were all linked, of course, all linked to the fact that he'd found himself falling head first in love with the last girl anyone expected him to even _sleep_ with. He knew it hadn't been that hard to figure out after the episode in the kitchen and he supposed that, that's what happened when you were in love; you did things you couldn't control. It had been proven; he knew that Chad, Zeke and Jason had been more then stunned at the way he had reacted to her name leaving Henderson's lips. He hadn't been able to control that urge of protectiveness, even if he'd tried.

Kissing her had been a different matter all together. Troy knew he could have kissed her at anyone one point through out the game, to judge her reaction and he was well aware that if he'd wanted to, he could have gotten her to kiss him. But that first time, in the kitchen, he probably should have been thinking about the game, most probably would have been too. If her eyes hadn't been that dark, those beautiful eyes that said more than she could ever say. She'd wanted him to kiss her, hell he could have taken her there in the kitchen as soon as his lips had touched hers, but he hadn't. He'd been more than content to kiss her and even more content to actually admit that what had happened, had been a little bit to real, a little bit to close to that fantasy of her being his, for him to think straight. The kisses on the porch were different from the one in the kitchen too. He'd known he loved her then, known that she was hurting from the way he'd been acting and he'd known that what had happened, couldn't interfere with the game. If it interfered, he knew that he was in danger of the puppeteer becoming the puppet and he didn't like that idea.

He'd always been the puppeteer, or director as Chad had once called him, he'd always worked that way, allowing Chad to put on the flashy show and him to become the dark figure of authority that could have everyone running scared with a simple change of tone. It had suited him a lot more than being the loud, obnoxious someone that Chad could be sometimes and it suited him even more when his personal life was never mentioned. He didn't want the fights with his Dad advertised around school and when he genuinely cared about someone, he didn't particularly want them to become known as 'Troy Bolton's girlfriend'. Besides, it was fun at times being able to watch people do stupid things that he had caused, however indirectly. Pulling the strings had been easy for him and pulling Gabriella's strings in this game of cat and mouse he'd started had been as dangerous as making a calculation that could go wrong. But so far, with Gabriella, the calculations had been absolutely correct. She'd reacted the way he had wanted her too and he could tell that no matter what she thought, she was falling for him and once she had, Troy knew he had to be extra careful. Because once she'd fallen, whether she'd tell him or not, her heart was in his hands and it was something he didn't want broken.

Troy barely jumped when his bedroom door swung open and his father strode into the room, his head held high. Instead of sitting up the way he knew Jack expected him too, Troy stayed laying on his bed, dressed for school and thinking about the brunette he'd been maneuvering ever since New Years. His eyes flicked over to his father when Jack let out a loud cough.

"Yes Dad. I'll be at practice." He said, his voice monotonous as Jack rubbed his hands together and looked at his son.

"I know that. You haven't been fighting with West High, have you son?" Jack's voice was hard as Troy once again glanced lazily at him.

"You haven't been having lunch with West High's coach, have you Dad?" Troy replied, closing his eyes as he heard his father cough nervously.

"Now where would you get an idea like that from?" Jack asked and Troy opened his mouth to reply when his mother appeared in the doorway, her eyes flicking disapprovingly from her husband to her son.

"He doesn't and you need to get to work Jack." Amanda Bolton spoke warningly when she saw the look on her husbands face. Jack stared at her for a moment, before nodding sourly. Amanda smiled in approval as Jack kissed her cheek goodbye before walking downstairs.

"Hi Mom." This time, Troy actually sat up to greet his mother and Amanda studied him thoroughly.

"You, young man, have got to learn not to rile your father up like that." She said and Troy shrugged as she leaned against the doorframe.

"I've tried." Troy replied with a grin that had his mother softening. She knew how strained the relationship between the two was and she hated seeing Troy lock himself in his room whenever he was home, but when he grinned at her like that, she was reminded of her little boy with scraped knees and couldn't help but side with him when Jack started.

"I know. So, I know you hate me nosing into your 'affairs', but I was wondering-" Troy cut her off with a roll of his eyes.

"Who the girl at the door on Friday was?" He finished and Amanda frowned at him playfully before nodding. "Just a friend." Troy replied with a smirk that told Amanda that the girl was definitely more than a friend to her son.

"Uh-huh." She said, leaning down to pluck up a shirt from the floor near the door and beginning to fold it neatly. Troy glanced at the clock and nearly swore when he saw the time; he was going to be late for school if he wasn't careful.

"Uh-huh," he countered standing up and grabbing his bag. "I've got to go; otherwise I'm going to be late for school. See you Mom." As he ran past her, Troy managed to drop a kiss on her cheek before skidding out the front door.

As he pulled open his car door, he found himself wondering exactly what his mother would think of what he was doing and then shook off the thought. He was well aware that she wouldn't agree to what he was doing and he had a feeling that she would scold him, making him feel like he was a naughty little boy again. A feeling he'd never particularly like and was absolutely grateful that only his mother seemed to have the ability to make him feel like that. As he pulled out his driveway, he caught a glimpse of his mother watching him drive out from his window and gave her a short wave before stepping on the accelerator. East High wasn't that far away, but he felt a need to see a certain brunette before the day began. For a moment, he wondered exactly how he was going to deal with the hurt she always tried to hide from him and then decided he'd deal with it as it came. Turning a corner, Troy ignored his phone when it began to ring, knowing that it was only Chad trying to contact him. Turning into the school parking lot, Troy pulled into a space and got out of the car. Slinging his bag over his shoulder, he headed toward the doors and wished to God that for once he wasn't popular. It took him nearly five minutes to work his way through a different group of girls that all seemed to think he had an interest in them. Walking in, Troy caught the ball that he knew would be heading his way as soon as he walked through the door and waited for Chad to speak.

"Dude, I would comment on how creepy it is, but I want to speak to you about a certain brunette who managed to make you snap even though she didn't happen to be there." Troy glanced at Chad as he walked over to Troy, who glanced at Chad, his eyes cool.

"What are you talking about Chad?" He asked, tossing the basketball he held back to his friend as Chad fell into step beside him.

"Uh, you beating up Henderson because he was talking about Gabriella Montez? Troy, dude, Greg Henderson shows up at the park on Friday and starts talking about the party, where you beat him up because he mentioned that the night you saved the girl you've currently been jerking around all he could think about was how much fun it would be to screw her and as I recall, in about two seconds flat, you'd nearly knocked him out and were threatening him." Chad said and Troy just looked at him.

"And the question behind all of that would be?" Troy asked coolly and Chad studied him carefully before trying to decide what question he should ask.

"Troy are you sort of, you know, falling for Gabriella?" Chad asked and Troy stopped in the hallway to turn and look at him.

"Whoa, dude, where did that come from?" Troy asked and Chad stopped to turn to look at him, this time the cynical expression that always seemed to reside on Troy's face, residing on his own.

"The fact that you've been messing with this girl for the past couple of weeks, not to mention the fact that you completely flipped when you heard Henderson speak her name. Troy, this girl has you showing something like that to the freaking world and you expect all of us to just sit back and think you don't feel something for her?" Chad asked and Troy stared at him like he was crazy.

"Chad, where do you get your ideas?" Troy asked and Chad just rolled his eyes at his friend's words.

"Don't avoid the question, answer it." Chad said folding his arms in a move that was very much like a mother.

"Chad, can we speak about this later please?" Troy asked and Chad stared at him. Troy sent him a look that spoke louder than words and Chad suddenly realized that there was a lot more happening beneath Troy's cool exterior than he let on.

"Okay, as long as you tell me exactly what's going on later." Chad said and Troy stared at him with raised eyebrows.

"When did you become such a girl?" He asked and Chad shrugged, not at all perturbed by what his best friend had said.

"When did you start feeling something for Montez?" Chad replied and Troy stared at him for a moment longer, before shrugging and shaking his head.

"I'm not answering that." Troy replied before saluting Chad and beginning to walk away from him.

"You'd better though." Chad shouted back and Troy just waved his hand back at Chad as he continued to walk down the hallway. Dodging students as he headed towards Gabriella's locker, Troy wondered exactly how Chad was going to react when he found out that he had fallen for Gabriella. Troy had a feeling that it wasn't going to be the shock of the world to his friend, no matter what he thought and Troy knew that once Chad had warmed to the idea, Chad was going to have a lot of fun with it. Turning the corner, Troy found himself looking at Gabriella, who was standing in front of her locker, staring into it almost unseeingly. Something inside him churned and Troy headed straight for her. Standing right behind her, Troy placed one hand on the locker next to hers and leaned on it.

"You know, if you stare at that locker any harder, someone's going to think that something's wrong with you." He said and raised his eyebrows once again when she jumped like she had been electrocuted.

"Oh – uh – hi Troy, I sought of spaced out for a moment." Gabriella said and Troy looked at her as he watched her inch away from him.

"Gee, now that's a surprise, when have you ever spaced out about anything?" He inquired and Gabriella looked at him, hurt flashing through her eyes before she seemed to remember his words on Friday and she offered him a small smile that said so much more to him than Gabriella was aware of.

"I'm human Troy, I can space out." She snapped and he smirked at her before slipping an arm around her waist. He found, to some surprise, that his arm wrapped right around her and he pulled her closer to him.

"You learn something knew every day, don't you Brie?" He humored her, even as one of her hand found the one resting on her stomach and their finger entwined, in a casual move that had Troy's stomach jolting.

"Uh-huh, but knowing you, you forget everything new you've learnt, isn't that right Troy?" Her tone was still sweet even though he saw her eyes darken when his thumb began to trace circles on the back of her hand. He smirked at her and leaned his head closer.

"And knowing you, Brie, you remember everything you shouldn't." He didn't think about what he'd said until he saw hurt flash and settle in her eyes. Hurt that said more to him than he would willingly admit. Immediately, all thoughts of the game left and Troy's hand fell away from the locker to slip around her waist, below his other arm. Gabriella struggled for a moment and Troy felt some relief when he heard the bell ring and everyone rushed to roll call.

"Let go of me Troy." She whispered and he heard the hurt that was in her eyes, in her voice. Gently, he brushed his lips over her hair, forgetting all about the game and only wanting to comfort to apologize.

"No. I'm sorry Brie, I am. I didn't mean for it to come out like that." He whispered, raising a hand to brush some hair behind her ears before lowering his lips to kiss just behind it.

"Yes you did. It never happened Troy, remember? It never happened." For a moment, Gabriella struggled again and Troy tightened his hold on her even as the hurt in her voice punched him in the gut.

"Shh. Gabriella, it _did_ happen. Okay? It did. You just have to trust me on this. I don't want you to remember it because I know it hurts you and I don't want you to hurt." As soon as he said it, Troy knew he'd said too much. He hadn't meant for that to leave his mouth, he hadn't meant for her to know that he didn't like to see her hurt, or want her to hurt for that matter. As soon as he said it, she stilled in his arms. He heard her take a shaky breath and then felt her melt into him, her head falling back to rest on his chest as her eyes closing. For a moment, Troy allowed himself not to care about the fact that he'd said too much, not to care about the fact that he'd done it again. He'd let himself become caught in his feelings and forgotten that he _needed_ to play the game. Instead, he buried his face in her curls, breathing in the mingling scents of her shampoo and perfume as he tightened his arm unnecessarily.

As he did it, he suddenly realized that maybe he was in over his head because at that precise moment, every reasoning he'd had, ever calculation he'd made, everything he'd done to get to this point, just didn't matter. She was in his arms, letting him hold her as the hand that held his tightened into a grip that didn't want to let go and her other hand rested over his, entwining their fingers. _This_ was what he wanted, he realized suddenly, he just wanted her. He wanted it to be game over and as soon as that realization struck him, Troy knew he'd gone beyond over his head. He'd known he loved her, known that she was going to end up his and the game had been what he'd thought was going to make sure of that. But now, holding her the way he was, made him so much less sure about the game than he ever had been before, because as he held her Troy wondered if maybe, just maybe, she could handle him and everything he was, without the need of a game that would test her.

**A/N: So, did that clear up anything? Because I'm not entirely sure it did. I don't know, I tried not to portray Troy as a coldhearted asshole and I don't know if I achieved it. I wanted him to have reasoning behind what he was doing and I wanted to actually show how he really felt about Gabriella and I really don't know if I achieved that or not. So, let me know if it wasn't up to scratch! I hope you all enjoyed it!**


	10. What If?

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own 'High School Musical' or any related characters.**

**A/N: Okay, so I apologize for the really long wait for this story but I had a lot on my plate and couldn't even think about writing at all! Anyway, I hope you enjoy!**

_**Cat and Mouse**_

**CHAPTER 10**

**WHAT IF?**

He cared. He actually cared about her. That was the only thing she could think about when he'd kissed behind her ear again, murmured goodbye and slipped away to face Miss Darbus in homeroom. It had been the only thing she could think about through out the day, every time she saw him all she could feel were his arms wrapped tightly around her waist as he brushed his lips over her hair. God, it wasn't fair! He wasn't allowed to act like that, he wasn't meant to tell her he didn't want her to hurt. He wasn't allowed to turn it on her like that. He didn't want it to hurt her and right now, she was hurting more than she'd ever imagined she could. Because she knew he cared now, she knew that there was more to this game now than falling back into bed with her; she knew that she was more than his little project and she knew that he knew how she felt and that was probably what was hurting her the most. She couldn't help but feel like he was deliberately trying to hurt her, deliberately trying to make her cry and for some reason she couldn't fault him for it and that's what added to the torrent of emotions that she was currently feeling. Because she wanted to blame him, she wanted to hate him for causing her pain; she wanted him to at least feel some small portion of what she was feeling and whenever she thought about it, it hurt that much more because she realized that she couldn't do it. She couldn't hate him for what he was doing; she couldn't hate because as she'd discovered, hating someone you loved was so much harder than hating someone you were simply lusting over.

Gabriella let her head hit the lab desk she was sitting at and felt hot tears burn her eyes. For a moment she wished that the fact that she loved him hadn't decided to force itself upon her. God, it wasn't even the high school love that her mother always told her about, the one were people were only incredibly infatuated with someone before it all wore off and Gabriella hated the fact that the feeling in her stomach told her that what she felt for Troy was a lot more than the feeling the cheerleaders had for their short term boyfriends. It was something so much more and it hurt more to realize that it was so much more because she let it become so much more. She could have stopped it at the one night stand on New Year's Eve, she could have stopped his stupid little game and she could have not found that other side of him, the side that so many people didn't see, so wonderful. But she had. She'd found his vulnerable side, the side were everything mattered to him, so amazing that she'd found herself falling for it. It was like falling for two different Troy's, one she hadn't seen much of, the emotional side, the vulnerable one, the one that preferred to lean on her than deal with it herself and she'd seen the other side. The side that was constantly amused, the side that could become as cold as ice if someone said something he didn't like and the side that had a temper many avoided at all costs and for some unknown reason, the two different parts of his personality made her love him even more.

Hearing the door to the lab open, Gabriella's head immediately snapped up and her hands went to her face to wipe away the few tears that had escaped. Sitting up straighter, Gabriella looked down at the textbook she was meant to be reading from and quickly flicked it open to a random page, picking up her pen she focused on the tiny letters and waited for the person to find her.

"Gabs! You are in here!" Hearing Taylor's relieved voice, Gabriella dropped the pen and turned to look at her as Taylor walked over and seated herself on one of the stools that sat beside Gabriella.

"Hey Tay." Gabriella sighed, turning to face her friend who was watching her carefully, as if trying to figure out what was wrong with her.

"Sweetie, what happened? You were fine this morning when I left you." Taylor asked gently, almost cautiously. Gabriella looked at her, biting her lip as she tried to think of a way to word exactly what had happened.

"I – I…Troy happened. That's what happened." Gabriella said softly biting her lip as Taylor touched her arm gently. "God Taylor, it's not fair! Why can't this stupid game be what I think it is? Why can't the purpose be what I wanted it to be? Why did I sleep with him in the first place? Why the hell did I have to fall in love with _him_?" Gabriella's voice rose with every question and Taylor stood from her seat and slipped an arm around Gabriella's shoulders as her friend pressed a hand to her face and took a deep breath.

"Gabriella, what happened?" Taylor asked softly and Gabriella shook her head slightly before taking in another deep breath.

"Taylor, he cares about me." The words were whispered and Gabriella felt Taylor's hand freeze half-way up her arm.

"What?" Taylor kept her voice carefully blank as Gabriella watched her, biting her bottom lip so hard that her lip was white.

"Troy, this morning, you know how I was late for homeroom? He," Gabriella took a deep breath, "he was at my locker and we were talking I guess and he said something about how I remember things I shouldn't and I got upset when he said that. Taylor he said he didn't want me to hurt. He cares about me Tay. He actually cares." Gabriella finished in a whisper and Taylor narrowed her eyes at her friend, not quite seeing why Gabriella was so upset.

"Okay, so why are you so freaked out?" She asked and Gabriella shrugged, turning her eyes back to the textbook that sat in front of her.

"Because I thought that the game was all about…falling back into bed. I didn't think that he cared about me, I didn't think I'd fall in love with him." Taylor's eyebrows drew together in a quizzical look and Gabriella once again shrugged at the expression, averting her gaze when she saw Taylor begin to mull over what she had said, trying to piece together the mystery of her friend.

"So you're hiding and mad because the guy you love cares about you? How is that a bad thing? And when did you decide that you were in love with him?" Taylor added as an afterthought, not at all worried about the fact that Gabriella was in love with him and more worried about the fact that she was going to over think how everything was happening. To Taylor, Troy was one of the best things that had happened to Gabriella, no matter what her friend thought.

"Yes, no, I don't know why I'm hiding. It's just that it so…unexpected. I mean, he never let on that he cared about me, I wanted him to care about me, hell I still want him to love me but I figured that was never going to happen, so I sort of settled for whatever he wanted from me." Gabriella replied, her eyes trained on the desk as she fiddled with the pen that she had dropped.

"And the whole love thing?" Taylor probed and Gabriella sighed, turning her eyes to Taylor and smiling sadly.

"I guess it really hit me when he left this morning. I don't know what to do Taylor. I mean, I know he cares about me but I love him. One doesn't match the other, no matter how much I want it too." Taylor sighed at Gabriella's words, seeing the logic and knowing that no matter what she said; Gabriella wouldn't be convinced to leave the lab until she'd come to some conclusion that would be blown out of the water the moment Troy made another move.

"Okay, stay here. But Gabriella, what if Troy doesn't just care about you, what if he loves you? What if you falling in love with him was the whole reason he started the game and he's been stringing you along about the sex part all along? What if you were wrong and the game wasn't what you thought it was?" Gabriella stared at Taylor as the words left her mouth, the words what if, circling through her mind as Taylor hugged her warmly before leaving Gabriella alone with her thoughts.

Staring at the page and barely flinching when the door clanged shut. Gabriella's mind went into overdrive as she wondered if Taylor was right. What if Troy didn't just care about her? What if Troy was loved her? What if the whole reason for this stupid game she still had no idea how to play, was for her to become his? What if…what if everything wasn't what she thought? Gabriella gulped slightly as a whole new world of prospects and ideas opened up to her at the simple question of what if. Instead of taking to it, dipping into to it the way she could have if it was anyone else. She fought to close it, finding herself more than an afraid when she realized that things were beginning to move to quickly and everything was slowly getting out of hand. Not that it had been in her hands anyway, but Gabriella couldn't stop the feeling in her stomach that despite everything Troy had said in the past, the game had barely started.

Swallowing slightly at her own thoughts, Gabriella snapped her textbook shut and shoved it into her bag. Shaking the thoughts from her mind, she pulled the strap over her shoulder and headed for the door. Stepping into the quiet corridor, Gabriella suddenly became grateful for the free period right after lunch. Hugging herself tightly, she began to walk down the hallway, no real destination in mind and a determination to keep herself from thinking about Troy and her feelings for him, as well as the what ifs? That her mind was struggling to turn to and examine in great deal. They're just what ifs, though, Gabriella reminded herself firmly as she turned a corner. Feeling warm sunshine on her face, Gabriella smiled a little as she saw the gym. Feeling her stomach turn at the thought that Troy might be in there, she ignored it and was about to continue walking when the door to the gym burst open and banged shut. Holding back a startled scream, Gabriella stepped forward and her eyes widened when she saw a furious Troy. Before she could even respond to the instinct that told her to go to him, the door to gym burst open again and Coach Bolton appeared, as furious as his son.

"What the hell do you think you're doing Troy? I'm trying to run a practice!" The Coach's words echoed around the school and Gabriella flattened herself against the wall beside her and wondered if she should go back the way she came from.

"Trying to run a practice? Is that what you're calling it?" Troy let out a sarcastic laugh and Gabriella bit her lip. "That's not a fucking practice Dad; a practice is where you don't treat one of your best players like crap! A practice is where everyone sharpens there skills not freaks out because they drop the fucking ball!" Gabriella swallowed at the fury in Troy's voice and wondered what had happened for him to become so angry.

"Don't you dare use language like that around me young man! I'm not only your Coach and your father." The tone of Coach Bolton's voice had Gabriella paling slightly, she'd never heard someone sound so dangerous, his words were almost like a threat and she curled her hand into a fist at Troy's snort of laughter.

"You're not a fucking coach, you're a fucking Nazi. As for being my father, you lost the right to call yourself that the moment I stepped onto that court." Gabriella knew that Troy was gesturing towards the gym just by his own furious tone. For a moment, there was silence and Gabriella wondered what had happened when she heard the gym door bang shut. Closing her eyes in relief, she let out a soft sigh before dropping her bag onto the ground and rounding the corner she'd snaked behind to find Troy.

He wasn't hard to find. He was standing were she assumed he'd been when he'd faced off with his father, his body was taut with anger and she could see a muscle in his jaw twitching as he faced away from the gym door. Seeing a red imprint on his jaw, Gabriella felt a moments panic at what Coach Bolton had done during those few moments of silence and then pushed it away, as she reached him. For a moment she stood there, unsure what she should do and then didn't have to wonder when he spoke.

"You saw all of that?" He asked, his voice was quiet and Gabriella heard the lingering fury in it, for a moment she wished he would turn around to look at her before she replied.

"I heard it. Is it always that bad?" She asked softly and was rewarded with a shrug she didn't know how to interpret. Folding her bottom lip inward, Gabriella grasped some of his practice jersey in her hand and tugged on it. Troy complied and Gabriella looked up at him with a worried curiosity.

"Sometimes it can be worse." He admitted just as quietly as before. Gabriella took in a sharp breath at his admittance and raised a hand to tug at his folded arms. They fell to his side in an almost dejected move and Gabriella found herself fighting tears at the way he was acting. Rising to her toes, she slipt her arms around his neck and pulled him down with her as she lowered herself back to the ground. He was still tense, but he didn't push her away and Gabriella found herself grateful for it as she turned her head to press her lips to the side of his neck.

"Troy, relax. Baby, relax." The words slipped out of her before she could stop them and Gabriella wished that they had at least drawn a smirk from him, though she felt some relief when his arms slipped around her waist.

He buried his face deep in her neck and Gabriella's mind flashed to Friday before returning to the now. Pulling him closer, she pressed more kisses to his neck as he pulled away, a good deal less furious and a bit more vulnerable as he looked at her.

"You're Dad didn't hit you did he Troy?" Gabriella asked, her eyes finding the imprint on his jaw again and Troy shook his head, letting out a dry chuckle at her question.

"No Brie he didn't. He wouldn't. Mom'd kill him if he did." Gabriella let out a sigh of relief at his words and leaned up to press her lips to his neck again. She could see the haze of vulnerability receding and wondered if she would see it again, instead she tilted her head back to look him in the eye and smiled slightly when she saw the vulnerability and anger shift to amusement. Leaning up, her lips found his in a brief kiss and Gabriella lingered over it, knowing it was a kiss to soothe if nothing else. Pulling back she held him close again. Before he pulled away.

She let him go; knowing that he had to get back to his practice before his father came searching for him. This time there was no mention of forgetting it, no mention of it never happening and Gabriella had to wonder what if this part of them, this part of their complicated relationship, had nothing to do with the game and everything to do with how they felt. What if the game was just an excuse?

**A/N: I'm not sure about this; I don't think I did it very well or if it got the point across. Oh well, let me know if it did!**


	11. Lose Lose

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own 'High School Musical' or any related characters.**

**A/N: Okay, sorry, sorry, sorry, sorry, sorry!!!!! I know, it's been like three months since I updated last and well, there's an actual reason for that. I went down the coast to a place that has no internet and my dad wouldn't let me bring my laptop and then when we got home, I started school pretty much straight away and have been so exhausted that the thought of writing made me tired. So, I'm just really, really, really sorry!!!! I hope you enjoy this!**

**  
**_**Cat and Mouse**_

**CHAPTER 11**

**LOSE-LOSE **

Things were slowly beginning to spin out of hand. Troy recognized it the moment Gabriella had disappeared from his view. To him it seemed like there was some parallel universe that existed only when they were alone together. It was something that he had never encountered before and it worried him slightly that while around other people he and Gabriella could act like they were playing a simple game of cat and mouse, with the end result known to both of them but as soon as they were alone, it was like the game didn't exist. Nothing existed to them when they were alone but the feeling that _this_ was really what they were playing for, the secret moments stolen when his guard was down and she was too weak to resist him at his most vulnerable. Suddenly, two dimensions of the game existed and Troy knew that Gabriella wasn't as aware of it as he had been when she had appeared after the argument with his father. The first dimension was the one that everybody else saw, a game that involved a hunter and its prey, a cat and mouse game that everyone assumed was going to end the way every other cat and mouse game he'd ever participated in did. The second dimension was their stolen moments together that had only come into existence when Henderson had threatened her and everyone on that court had seen him almost lose complete control of his temper and he'd kissed her in her kitchen as she'd looked after him, treating him almost as if he really was her boyfriend, from there the second dimension had taken off and Troy knew it was slowly taking over the game. Just as he knew the game was close to ending. It was ending because he didn't think he could deal with treating Gabriella like a toy anymore, he didn't think he could play it out the way he had planned to in the beginning. It would be too hard for him to do that to her, and much too painful to see her hurting eyes every time he made a flippant comment about them and she remembered what had happened between them when they were alone.

Hearing the door to the gym bang open, Troy tensed and turned, relaxing when he saw Chad with a determined look on his face that told him that Chad wanted answers to his questions and wasn't going to rest until he had them. Troy waited patiently as Chad tossed his gym bag onto the bleachers carelessly before stalking over to Troy, the determined look on his face almost comical seeing as Chad rarely ever seemed determined about something and let it show. Instead of acknowledging Chad straight away as he came to stand beside him, Troy took a shot from the three-point line and went to catch the ball when it went through the net, turning to face Chad when he'd caught the ball and was fully prepared for his best friends queries. Chad, seeming to sense that Troy was ready to talk, shoved his hands in the pockets of his cargo pants and began to speak.

"Do you love her?" Troy blinked at the quiet question. Out of everything that he'd been prepared for, that particular question from Chad, of all people, hadn't been one of the ones he'd even remotely expected.

"Do I love her?" He repeated and Chad nodded, studying Troy intently as Troy sighed and began bouncing the basketball, knowing that Chad was expecting an honest answer and in their nearly eighteen years of friendship, Troy had not once lied to him, especially when he'd asked a serious question.

"Yes." Troy met Chad eyes, daring him to say something stupid about his answer and was slightly relieved when all Chad did was raise his eyebrows, giving Troy the impression that he'd already figured that out. Despite many people assuming Chad was dumb, Troy knew that when he put his mind to something, Chad could have everything figured out within a matter of seconds and he had a feeling that Chad had been thinking about what was going on between him and Gabriella for a while.

"Thought so. That's why you threatened Henderson?" Chad asked again and Troy nodded.

"Pretty much. You going to skirt around your real question with ones you've already answered?" Troy asked with a sigh and Chad cracked a grin before shaking his head at the resigned tone in Troy's voice.

"Nah. Just wanted to make sure all my answers were correct," he replied and Troy let out a dry chuckle. "So, you still going to play the game with her?" He asked and Troy shrugged.

"I can't Chad. Are you seriously telling me you didn't figure this one out too?" Troy asked in disbelief and Chad shrugged, rocking back on his heels as a serious look came over his face.

"Well, I did, kinda. But I figured it'd be smarter to ask you, cause no offense Troy, but you can be a real prick when it comes to girls and this game you're dealing with her. So I really didn't know whether or not you'd still screw around with her." He replied honestly and the muscle in Troy's jaw tightened slightly at the answer before he relaxed them.

"I can't play it Chad, I can't keep doing that to her. I mean with all the other girls, they knew I was going to screw around with them until I felt like finishing off the game but it's different with Brie." Troy said heading over to sit on the bleachers as Chad chuckled behind him.

"Yeah, you gave her a nickname." Chad commented flippantly and Troy glared at him, letting Chad know that he wasn't kidding around.

"No. Chad it's totally different. I can't play the game because it hurts her when I do and I can't stand to see her hurt. The games going to be over before the championship even hits us." Troy said solemnly and Chad sat down next to him, staring at Troy hard to try and detect some hint of a lie behind the cool mask and was stunned to discover that Troy was dead serious. He wasn't going to play the game anymore. It was going to be game over very soon.

"You love her that much, huh?" He asked and Troy shrugged his shoulders at the question.

"I guess. She just…gets it Chad. She gets that when I've had an argument with Dad, I don't want to talk about it, she gets that I can't go home looking like I've been in a fight because then I'll get my butt kicked by my parents. I don't know how she gets it, she just does and she gets that half the things I've said to her, really don't mean anything." Troy said and Chad nodded, not in understanding but with a realization that Troy needed all this from someone who he wanted to know. It was different with Gabriella than it was with him and Chad found that at least he approved of Troy's choice in a girl.

"Okay. So, you love her, she gets it and you can't play the game anymore. So that's it? Its all over from there?" Chad asked and Troy let out a laugh at the way Chad had stated it all.

"It's not really that simple Chad. First, I've got to tell her I love her, then there are a few things she's probably going to need know and then yeah, it pretty much is game over from there on." Troy agreed and Chad nodded his head, his eyes narrowing as he stared down at the court.

"It's weird." Chad stated after a few moments of silence and Troy glanced at him in surprise.

"Why is it weird?" He inquired and Chad grinned at him, snatching the basketball from his hands and standing up.

"Because it's you. I would have never seriously expected to see you whipped until you were at least twenty-five and now look at you, you're not even with this girl and you're completely whipped already." Chad replied and Troy glared at him, the serious mood of the conversation evaporating as Chad laughed at the thought of his best friend being completely whipped.

"Ha ha. Laugh it up now Chad, cause when you find a girl like Brie, you are going to be so whipped it'll be absolutely hilarious." Troy shot back sarcastically and Chad shrugged his shoulders, still grinning.

"Maybe. But the difference is, you my friend, bad boy extraordinaire and king player, are the one that's whipped right now. So, go on, call her and tell her that you want to meet up because you have something to tell her." Chad said and Troy narrowed his eyes at his friend before sighing and then sighed. It couldn't hurt, right?

"Fine." Chad grinned and watched as Troy found his phone and flipped it open. Sending Gabriella a message, asking if she could meet him at the basketball courts in the park in an hour. Setting his phone back down, Troy stood up and stretched, throwing his phone onto the bleachers and walking over to Chad.

"So, you got the details you wanted?" He asked and Chad shrugged, bouncing the ball as he examined.

"Yep. You suck at telling me what's going on though." Chad replied and Troy shrugged, smirking at him.

"That's because I know you need to use your brain at some point in the day and I always figure you're going to have to use it when you're trying to figure out what's happening with me." Troy replied and Chad rolled his eyes at his words, before Troy heard his message tone. Turning to get it, Troy's entire body stilled in shock as he came face to face with Andrew Reynolds, Greg Henderson and Riley Smith, West High's vice-captain, all standing where he had been sitting.

"A bit out of you're territory don't you think Reynolds?" Troy asked as Andrew flipped open his phone and read the message that Troy _knew_ was from Gabriella.

"_Sure. I'll see you then. Brie._" Troy's jaw clenched as Andrew read the message out loud before flipping the phone shut. "So, you really are involved with Greg's failed conquest." Andrew said, wanting to be on even ground with Troy but recognizing the signs of his brewing temper.

"That has nothing to do with you." Troy didn't move as Chad spoke up harshly from behind him and Riley and Greg smirked.

"No. But it has everything to do with Greg, wouldn't you say Chad? I mean, she was Greg's date to the New Year's Party, wasn't she Greg?" Andrew addressed the boy on his right and Greg looked at Troy, the smirk fading slightly when he saw the temper he was positive Andrew had never seen unleashed before in his eyes before speaking against his better judgment.

"Yeah. She told me she liked it rough." Troy's jaw clenched at the words, furious that Henderson would say something like that when he had been on the receiving end of Troy's temper twice before.

"Really? Did she tell you before or after you were drunk that she had absolutely no experience in that department?" Troy replied and Greg winced at the words before Andrew waved it away dismissively, pleased that Greg was right when he'd said that Gabriella Montez was Troy's new weak spot.

"It doesn't matter, does it? We came here for a reason," Andrew said and Troy's eyes shifted to him.

"Oh really, and what's that? To pull out because you know we're going to beat you in four days time?" Troy asked and Andrew was the one that winced at Troy's words, knowing how true they were.

"Yes. It does have something to do with the championship and we thought who better to bring our case to but the Wildcat Captain?" He asked and Riley chuckled slightly from behind as Troy studied him through cool eyes.

"And what, exactly, are you bringing to me?" Troy asked slowly, dragging each word out as his eyes flicked over the smug face of all three boys.

"This little thing we like to call a threat. See Troy, you made a mistake threatening Greg that second time, we all heard about how you didn't want him anywhere near Gabriella Montez and, unfortunately for you, he's not sure he can do that." Andrew said with a self-satisfied smirk that had something in Troy's stomach clenching.

"Oh really?" Troy asked, his eyes flicking over to Henderson who was watching Troy intently.

"Yes really, see he has this…_special need_ for her and only her, whether or not she's willing," Andrew smiled maliciously as he watched Troy's fists clench. "And there's only one thing that'll make that _special need_ for her disappear." He said and Troy looked at Andrew, his temper beginning to break against its constraints.

"Really? And what is that?" Troy asked and this time Andrew knew it was safe enough for him to step down to face Troy.

"Throw the championships." He said softly and Troy felt Chad start forward at the word, instead he held out his hand and stopped him.

"So, if we don't throw the championships, Greg'll hurt Brie and if we do, he'll leave her alone?" Troy asked and Andrew smiled at him, pleased that Troy had gotten it all in one go.

"I always knew you were a smart one Bolton," Andrew said, stepping away from him as Riley and Greg joined him on the court. "I suppose you'll make your decision by the championship?" He said and Troy barely nodded. Not at all sure what he was feeling as they began to walk away.

"Hey Henderson," Troy suddenly called out and Greg stopped. "Does it suck to know that I fucked the girl you've been after for nearly two years the night you fucked up your big chance with her?" He asked with a smirk and felt a small amount of satisfaction when Greg started towards him, his fists clenched tightly, his green eyes sparking with anger even as Andrew collared him and basically dragged him out of the gym. As soon as the door to the gym shut, Troy turned to Chad who was staring at him.

"What the hell are we going to do?" Chad asked after a moment of silence and Troy shook his head. It was a lose-lose situation. On one hand, Gabriella got hurt and would probably hate him for the rest of his life and on the other, they lost the championship the entire Varsity team had been working toward for the past three years and they only had three days to make the decision.

**A/N: So, I don't know. That was like the whole reason Henderson was in this story, for that to happen. I don't think I quite pulled it off though, not the way I wanted to pull it off anyway. Troy's basically in shock for all of you that don't know, which is probably everyone. Anyway, I hope you liked it even if I thought it was horrible!**


	12. Breathing In Between

DISCLAIMER: I do not own 'High School Musical' or any related characters. 

**A/N: Okay, so it was quite amusing reading some of your reviews, especially how mad some of you got at Greg. It was pretty funny. Anyway, now I've gotten excited about this story cause seriously, who wouldn't? Anyway, I hope you enjoy this chapter!**

_**Cat and Mouse**_

**CHAPTER 12**

**BREATHING IN BETWEEN**

Gabriella shivered slightly as the winter wind swept past her. Pulling her jacket around her tighter, she wished desperately that Troy would get here and fast. She was freezing and had been for the past five minutes. When she had received the text message from Troy, she had been curled up under her very large, soft, warm comforter reading a book and wondering exactly what the red mark on his face had been when her phone had gone off. She'd waited for a few minutes before she'd reached for it and read the message, her stomach immediately turning several times as she'd read it. Her hopes had shot through the roof when she'd read his message, and she knew that he wouldn't message her unless he'd reached a decision about the game. God, she was so nervous! What was going to happen? She never knew what Troy was going to do next; she never knew if he was meeting her in the park to break her heart or to make a new move that would leave her completely confused. She just didn't know and she knew that after this afternoon she didn't care as long as he thought about her. Ever since Troy had walked back into the gym after she'd witnessed the confrontation between him and his father, Gabriella had allowed her sentiments to change. Yes she wanted Troy all to herself because her feelings for him wouldn't let her settle for anything less than the whole package. But she'd come to the conclusion, after examining Troy's reputation, that as long as he was thinking about her then maybe, just maybe, she could edge towards the rest with him, that maybe, if he was thinking about her the way she was thinking about him, they could ease into a serious relationship instead of just ending it like all his other games of cat and mouse had ended. If the game ended the way Gabriella had found out every other game of Troy's had ended, Gabriella knew she probably wouldn't ever recover from the heartbreak of having Troy get bored of her and dump her because of it.

It hadn't actually taken her that long to figure out how much it would hurt if Troy ever got bored and ended the game. She'd never really had any real interest in boys before Troy had come along and she'd never felt anything for a boy, not even something that could even vaguely be described as a crush. But Gabriella knew that what she felt for Troy was no crush; it wasn't even a very strong feeling of lust. She knew that she loved Troy. She had no idea how she knew, given her experience was very limited, but she _did_ know that Troy was everything she wanted before she'd even known what she wanted. Another gust of wind roused her from her thoughts, and Gabriella shivered before making the decision that if Troy didn't show up in the next two minutes she was going back to her very warm bed. With a shake of her head, Gabriella turned around and froze as she saw Troy striding toward her, his face set and something Gabriella couldn't quite decipher shining in his eyes.

"Hey-" Gabriella started when he was close enough and then stiffened as his lips crashed against hers and his body slammed against hers. For a moment she was completely immobilized and then her eyes closed firmly and her arms snaked around his neck as she let him take whatever it was he seemed to need so desperately. She gasped against his mouth when she felt his hand slip beneath her shirt and find the warm skin of her back and then pushed against him as the hand slid up and down slowly before Troy drew away. For a moment, they both stood there, gasping for breath and then Gabriella's heart melted when Troy dropped his forehead to rest on hers.

"Hi." She whispered, her arms around his neck tightening as his hand continued to slide up and down her back as if soothing himself with the fact that she was there.

"I've got some things to tell you." He said quietly and Gabriella's grip on his neck loosened at his words as she felt her stomach turn at his words.

"Uh-huh. I figured. What's wrong?" She asked, bringing her hand to trace his jaw line and smiling slightly at the five o'clock shadow she could only faintly see but could feel perfectly. She was surprised when he pressed his lips up against hers again, lingering there as the hand on her back curled into a fist before spreading flat on her back.

"Everything's wrong Brie," he whispered against her lips and Gabriella heart leaped at the words, "it was all good up until this afternoon in the gym." Troy said and Gabriella pulled away with some difficulty to look up into his eyes.

"What happened in the gym?" She asked curiously, praying it had nothing to do with her or what happened between them this afternoon. Instead of answering, Troy shook his head and pulled her closer again.

"I have to tell you something. It's really important too," Gabriella felt her stomach turn at his words and looked up at him, praying he wasn't going to say what she thought he was going to say.

"Okay." She nodded and then felt instantly cold when Troy withdrew his hand and backed away from her completely. Biting her lip, she took a step toward him and reached out to him and felt her heart break slightly when he avoided her touch.

"Troy." She said desperately when he hadn't spoken at all and she swallowed when his eyes turned to hers.

"It's game over Gabriella." Gabriella felt tears prick her eyes at his words and she took a step back from him as he continued looking at her intently. "I know that it might be weird, but its game over. I can't play the game anymore." Troy said and his eyes widened when he saw a tear spill down her cheek.

"S-so I'm not exciting enough for the game anymore?" She stuttered slightly as she backed away from him, feeling her heart begin to break as she saw something flash through his eyes that she hadn't seen before.

"Oh God, oh no, no that's not what I meant! Brie, that's not what I meant." Troy said, moving closer and reaching for her. Gabriella dodged his touch the way he'd previously dodged hers and wished that she hadn't gotten her hopes up, she could practically see them crashing down around her as she continued to back away from Troy.

"That's what you always mean Troy." Gabriella heard herself say quietly and felt another tear spill down her cheek as Troy took another step toward her, catching her wrist and pulling her close to him.

"Not this time Brie," Troy said and Gabriella stilled when she heard the tremble in his voice. "This time its game over because I love you. I'm not playing the game anymore because I know playing the game hurts you." Gabriella forgot to breathe the moment Troy told her he loved her. She barely heard the rest of what he said as the words 'I love you' echoed around her head. She felt her stomach drop away and buried her face deep in his shoulder as her breath came out in short, quick gasps. Lifting her face from his shoulder, Gabriella looked at him and knew that he meant it. He really meant what he'd said. He really did love.

"Troy…" Gabriella didn't even bother to finish her sentence as she kissed him. Not caring that she knew some people were watching the two, having noticed them when she'd begun backing away from him. "I love you too." She whispered when they'd pulled away for air and smiled as Troy smirked at her, before turning completely serious.

"You know how to complicate things, you know that Brie?" He asked and Gabriella shrugged, a giggle escaping her mouth before she saw something serious in his face.

"Yeah. I figured I'd complicated your life somewhat when you rescued me from Greg at the party." Gabriella said and watched as Troy's eyes darkened and his grip on her waist tightened until it was almost painful.

"Did you go to that party with Henderson, Brie? As in, were you his date?" Troy asked dangerously and Gabriella squirmed slightly in an attempt to loosen his hands before replying to the question.

"No. He asked me if I wanted to go to the party with him right before Christmas break and I told him that I was going somewhere with my mom." Gabriella said with some confusion. Troy sighed in relief and loosened his grip on her waist.

"You do realize that for the past two years Henderson has been after you, right?" Troy asked quietly and felt Gabriella stiffen at his words.

"No. Who told you that?" She asked and Troy shrugged a little at her words, wondering how on earth she could have missed Greg Henderson's not so subtle hints and his ever increasing tendency to be wherever she was.

"Uh, Greg." Troy replied as if it was obvious and Gabriella sighed at his words before snuggling into him. Not wanting to think about Greg, or anyone else for that matter, when Troy was holding her this tightly and brushing his lips up against any part of her face he could find every few seconds.

"Can we not talk about him, please?" She asked and felt Troy stiffen at her request. Her eyebrows drew together and Gabriella pulled away from him to see his face clearly.

"We, uh, kind of need to talk about him baby." Troy said and Gabriella felt her stomach turn once again at the serious look on his face. She could tell that something was going on just by looking at his face and Gabriella knew that it wasn't a good something. It surprised her slightly that she could read him so well after everything that had happened and then she forgot about it, when Troy took her hand and pulled her over to a bench.

"Troy, what's going on?" She asked quietly and Troy squeezed her hand, looking at her as if he was almost trying to make a decision. Gabriella looked up at him worriedly, terrified that maybe he would take back what he had said earlier and that for some reason Greg Henderson had something to do with it.

"Sit down Brie." Troy said softly and Gabriella, after a moment's indecision, sat down onto the bench, pulling Troy down with her and turning her body to face him as her eyes swept over his face in an attempt to see what was happening behind those blue eyes that had gone curiously blank after she'd see the indecision in them moments before. Raising a hand to his face, Gabriella brushed her fingertips down it softly once and then squeezed the hand she held as his face turned toward her.

"Tell me what's up Troy. What does Greg Henderson have to do with us?" Gabriella smiled a little at the last word and she saw the flicker in Troy's eyes that told her he'd registered her use of the word as well. Instead of replying straight away, Troy pressed his lips to hers once more before sighing.

"Okay, after you left today, I was in the gym alone and Chad walked in. We had a bit of a talk," Troy said, purposely leaving out what they were talking about. "Anyway, I sent you that message, turned my back for a couple of seconds, turned back around and Reynolds, Henderson and Smith were all in _our_ gym." Troy spat out the last few words in a fury Gabriella chose to ignore. Instead, she pressed her lips to his neck and took a breath.

"Who are Reynolds and Smith?" She asked quietly and felt Troy tense at her question; soothingly she rubbed up his arm with her free hand.

"Andrew Reynolds and Riley Smith, they're West High's captain and vice-captain. Henderson left East High and went to West after I beat him up for what he did to you at the New Year's party," Troy said and Gabriella nodded gently. "Anyway, they were in our gym and they had the nerve to threaten us." Troy said and Gabriella tensed at his words, her mind working to try and figure out what they could possibly use against the Wildcats.

"And the threat was?" Gabriella prompted after a moment's tense silence. Troy let out a breath and then looked her directly in the eye.

"The threat was if we don't throw the championships Greg's going to act on his 'special need' for you." Troy said quietly and Gabriella froze in shock at what he'd just said. Her grip on his hand loosened and Gabriella leaned away, staring at him with wide eyes as Troy looked away and at the ground. Gabriella swallowed, trying to comprehend what he'd just said as Troy avoided looking at her.

"W-why would they say something like that?" She asked and Troy sighed, pushing a hand through his hair as Gabriella stared at him.

"Because they know that we're going to beat them. Damn it, it's so stupid!" Troy suddenly exclaimed and Gabriella bit her lip at the sudden anger in his voice. "They knew I had a thing for you! They heard it in the park when I threatened Henderson again. Henderson must've told them about what happened on New Year's and Reynolds put it all together." Troy said and Gabriella's loose grip on his hand tightened as he continued to look at the ground.

"So, they told you that if you don't deliberately lose the championships, they're going to hurt me?" Gabriella asked, still trying to comprehend what he had told her. The euphoria she'd felt when he'd told her he loved her was slowly deflating as she realized that for once in the whole time she'd known him, Troy had no idea what to do and she could tell that between her and his team, his team would outweigh her.

"Basically." Troy sighed and Gabriella closed her eyes at the confirmation and bit her lip harder.

"Troy," Gabriella started and then stopped when he turned his head to look at her, raising his free hand he brushed it through her hair and Gabriella swallowed hard. "Troy we have to tell someone." She said and his hand stilled at her words.

"I'm not telling anyone Brie. I'm not." Troy snapped at her and Gabriella drew back at his words.

"Troy, you can't just deal with this on your own!" Gabriella exclaimed and he shook his head, pulling his hand away from hers and standing up.

"Gabriella, you don't get it. If we tell, we don't get to play and they'll look for the only thing that could hurt us and right now, the only thing that can hurt us is you. We have to play-" Gabriella cut him off before he could continue, her stomach tightening.

"And what? Win? Lose? What Troy?" She asked shrilly, unable to control how high her voice was becoming. Troy stared at her and Gabriella stood up reaching for him and latching onto his shirt. For a moment they stood there, Gabriella clutching his shirt and Troy looking at her before he sighed and wrapped his arms around her, pulling her close. Gabriella buried her face in his chest, terrified of what was going to happen between them.

"I'll figure something out Brie. I just…need to breathe in between." He whispered and Gabriella wrapped her arms around his middle holding onto him tightly.

"Troy…I love you. Please, please don't do anything stupid." She whispered and felt him kiss the top of her head.

"Gabriella, don't think about it, when I know what to do I'll tell you. I promise." Troy said and Gabriella pulled her face away from his shoulder to look up at him. Closing her eyes, she leaned up and kissed him. Staying there as Troy kissed back and tightening her grip, when he pulled away.

"So, what are we?" She asked and Troy sighed, grateful that she'd let it go, before smiling at her question.

"Without anyone knowing?" Troy asked and Gabriella nodded, furrowing her brow slightly at the question. "You are my gorgeous girlfriend." Gabriella blushed at his words, finding it amazing that they'd jumped into it and then looked up.

"And as far as everyone knows?" She asked softly and Troy looked down at her and sighed.

"I'm still playing the game with you and Reynolds threat is just one way of firing me up for the game." Troy said and Gabriella sighed before kissing him again. Pulling back she rested her chin on his chest.

"And right now? What are you doing right now?" She asked and Troy sighed, looking down at her and pushing a stray curl behind her ear.

"Right now? Right now Brie, I'm breathing in between games." He said and Gabriella didn't reply instead she rested her ear on his chest and closed her eyes, trying to figure out exactly what he meant and then she didn't care as she realized that she'd ended up with exactly what she'd wanted and she knew that for whatever reason, it was only them breathing in between the game that had ended and the game that was just beginning.

**A/N: Okay, so I'm not sure how well this one played out. Gabriella's once again confused and Troy's not going to tell her anything. Ah well, we shall see what happens next chapter and then go from there! I hope you liked it!**


	13. Yank the Floor

DISCLAIMER: I do not own 'High School Musical' or any related characters DISCLAIMER: I do not own 'High School Musical' or any related characters.

**A/N: To start off with I want to apologize profusely for the wait in chapters and updates. There is a very good reason behind it too! Our internet broke down like over a month ago and the guy couldn't fix it so we had to change internet servers and it took forever for the modem and stuff to get here and then it was like another weeks wait before the guy came to install it and then our computer screen wouldn't work, basically it has been absolute hell with our internet. So I'm sorry!! I will try and update as much as I can but I have to share one computer with my four brothers and my father and its going to be difficult until my laptop is reconnected to the internet. Also, at the end please read the authors not because there's a question I need answered about Dangerous Fascination! I am so sorry!  
**

_**Cat and Mouse**_

**CHAPTER 13**

**YANK THE FLOOR**

The moment Troy walked into East High the next day; he knew that he was going to have a hard time pretending that yesterday hadn't happened and an even harder time pretending that he hadn't left Gabriella's bed nearly three hours before. But the worst part was, the moment he saw her, he was going to want to touch her again and he knew that the moment he did, everyone was going to know that something big had happened between them simply because the way he wanted to touch her wasn't the way the students at East High were used to him touching someone and if everyone knew something big had happened, then they were screwed. If West High found out that Gabriella was now his girlfriend, then it was practically guaranteed that Reynolds would take that as a sign that Troy had chosen Gabriella over the championship. As soon as the thought drifted through his head, Troy's mind clicked into gear. What if Reynolds _did_ think that he had chosen Gabriella over the championship? If Reynolds thought that Troy was going to throw the championship just to protect Gabriella then, maybe, just maybe, there was a way around the threat that Reynolds had issued. Maybe, he could work his way around the threat. Maybe Gabriella didn't have to be hurt. It would be hard and Troy knew that he had to work out some more details, but he had a feeling that Reynolds hadn't thought the threat out properly. If he hadn't then – the ball appeared and Troy knew he was lucky to see it coming.

Catching it, Troy had to grin at Chad as Chad strolled over to him, wearing an amused and impressed expression. Throwing the basketball back to his best friend, Troy stopped walking and tossed the ball back to Chad, who caught it and then looked at him through squinted eyes with his head tilted to one side as if trying to find something different about him. Troy arched an eyebrow and waited for the inspection to end while his mind itched to get back to the subject it had been on before Chad had thrown the basketball at his face.

"Dude! You did it!" Chad suddenly exclaimed and Troy raised an eyebrow at his excited tone. Troy hadn't expected Chad to be so excited about him finally getting with Gabriella, especially considering the fact that Chad had been in the gym when Reynolds had issued his threat.

"Yes Chad I did it." Troy answered and Chad slapped him on the back with a jubilant look on his face that worried Troy slightly.

"So, should I expect to speak to McKessie anytime soon?" Chad asked and Troy looked at Chad a little harder, there was something about the way he'd said it that made Troy wonder.

"Why would you expect to speak to Taylor anytime soon?" Troy asked and Chad shrugged, his eyes darkening slightly as Troy slowly began to realize that maybe they weren't talking about the same thing.

"Because she'd be mad at you and therefore wouldn't want to speak to me." Chad replied and Troy began to get confused.

"What the hell are you talking about? Since when have you been talking to Taylor McKessie and why would she be mad at _me_?" Troy asked and watched as Chad's features twisted into confusion at his question.

"Because you dumped Gabri…" Chad trailed off as Troy stared at him like he was mad as Chad scratched his head in confusion.

"I didn't dump Gabriella. Why would you think that I dumped Gabriella?" Troy asked and Chad shook his head slightly.

"Wait, wait…you didn't dump Gabriella? Wasn't that what you were going to do yesterday when you went to the park? Cause you know…you didn't did you?" Chad said and knew that he definitely wasn't talking about what Troy was talking about.

"No. Why would I dump the girl that I love? Dude, you were encouraging it, like, two days ago. What changed?" Troy asked as Chad slapped his forehead and rolled his eyes.

"What changed? Dude, Reynolds threat changed! What the hell were you thinking?" Chad asked and Troy ran a hand through his hair as Chad stared at him in disbelief.

"I was thinking that I love Gabriella and that if I could get to her first, maybe we wouldn't have to throw the championship." Troy said and began to walk towards the general direction of his locker, with Chad following behind him.

"How are you going to keep Gabriella and not to throw the championship?" Chad asked, deflating slightly now that he knew that Troy wasn't exactly going to pick the championship over a girl.

"Well, I actually was on my way to figuring that out when a basketball flew at my face. Hmm, I wonder whose fault that was?" Troy said sarcastically and Chad glared at him as they stopped by Troy's locker.

"Well…sorry. Can you get back to what you were talking about? What was this plan that you were figuring out when I threw the basketball at your face?" Chad asked curiously and Troy glanced at him before throwing the ball he was carrying back at him, shaking his head slightly at how fickle Chad was.

"Can't tell you. You'd blab and then we wouldn't be able to execute it now would I?" Troy asked and Chad's face scrunched up, warning Troy that Chad was working his way toward a tantrum because Troy wasn't going to tell him anything. Rolling his eyes slightly, Troy looked up and a smile played on his lips as his eyes locked onto the petite brunette who had occupied his thoughts in the past three hours. Gabriella hadn't noticed him yet and Troy contented himself by leaning against his locker and watching as she made her way down the hallway, a faraway look in her eyes.

"Troy, what are you staring at?" Chad asked when he'd managed to suppress the urge to throw a tantrum in the middle of the school hallway. Troy didn't respond, instead he pushed off the locker and began walking behind his girlfriend, who hadn't realized that he was following her. Ignoring Chad who was greeting people loudly as he made his way down the hallway behind him, Troy rounded the corner Gabriella had turned and knew he smiled when he saw her stopped by her locker. Watching her carefully, Troy waited until she had placed her bag into her locker and was examining her timetable before he walked over to her; he slipped his arms gently around her waist and leaned down to her ear.

"Guess who." He whispered, nuzzling her ear slightly as he heard her giggle and felt her arms rest upon his, her weight leaning back upon him.

"Could it be…my boyfriend?" She asked quietly and Troy kissed behind her ear as she turned around to look up at him, her own arms wrapping around his waist as she tilted her face upwards.

"It could be." Troy agreed and then leaned down to kiss her, "hello." He murmured against her lips before kissing her again.

"Hello to you too. Miss me?" She asked when he'd pulled back and Troy grinned down at her, his hand slipping beneath her shirt as she smiled back up at him.

"Yep. Those three hours have been absolute torture for me. You miss me?" He asked, drawing a circle on her back that made her squirm as her arms slipped from around his middle to around his neck.

"Uh-huh. Lots." She replied, pulling his mouth down to hers again. Both were completely oblivious to the curious stares they were receiving as they kissed blissfully before Gabriella pulled away to turn around in his arms again and gather the books she needed. Troy, completely aware now that they were being watched, began to place soft kisses on her neck, grinning when he heard her soft sigh. Gabriella turned slightly in his arms and buried her face in the curve of his neck. Troy lowered his face to the side of her neck exposed and they held the position. Troy felt himself sink into her and knew he would have been quite happy to stay exactly where he was for the rest of the day, the only problem was he knew that they couldn't stay the way they were because they were in the middle of the hallway and Troy knew that they were being watched by very curious teenagers.

"Babe, we have to get to homeroom." Troy murmured against her neck and Gabriella made a sound that was halfway between lazy contentment and agreement. Keeping his arm around Gabriella's waist, Troy reluctantly pulled away from his hiding place and began to walk down the hallway with Gabriella attached to his side.

"Troy, everyone's staring." Gabriella whispered to him after a few moments of walking down the hallway with everyone's eyes following them. Troy glanced around the hallway and smirked at the students who were brave enough to look back at him.

"So?" He replied looking down into her brown eyes and seeing how uncomfortable she was with the stares. Gabriella frowned up at him slightly, apparently not pleased with his casual answer.

"I don't like people staring at me." Gabriella whispered and Troy let out a chuckle at her words and leaned down to press a kiss to her forehead. Pulling her into their classroom, Troy sat down in his seat and pulled her down onto his lap.

"Brie, people are going to stare at you all the time and I guarantee that the questions are going to start the moment Chad and Taylor get into the classroom." Troy said and Gabriella set her books down onto his table and slipped an arm around his neck.

"I know Chad and Taylor are going to ask questions, it's just the staring Troy. I've spent a lot of my life not being noticed – don't look at me like that – I _have_ and I'm not used to being stared at. It scares me." Gabriella said softly and Troy smiled softly, rubbing her thigh gently as she fiddled with the collar of the shirt he was wearing.

"Don't let it scare you; they'll get over it very quickly." Troy said and Gabriella gave him a look that told him she didn't believe him. Troy just rolled his eyes and affectionately kissed her nose.

"Are you sure?" She asked nervously and Troy kissed her nose again, chuckling slightly when she wrinkled it and nodded.

"Yes I'm absolutely positive. If they don't, I'll use some of my scare tactics." He replied and Gabriella laughed at that.

"Of course you will." She giggled and Troy was about to act offended when someone next to them coughed. Troy smirked slightly when Gabriella blushed and pulled away enough for them to both look at Chad and Taylor, who looked like they had no idea how to react to the way their friends were acting.

"Um, hi." Troy glanced at Gabriella, unable to help himself from pressing a kiss to her lips at how cute she looked embarrassed.

"Hello. Want to tell us why you two are acting like a couple?" Taylor asked studying the two of them carefully. Troy glanced at Gabriella and was surprised to see the thoughtful look on her face when she had been embarrassed only moments before.

"Probably because we are one." Troy replied as Gabriella turned towards him to study his face curiously.

"But no-ones meant to know we are." Gabriella suddenly said and Troy looked at her. "What if West High finds out? Troy, what if someone tells them?" Gabriella asked and Troy saw the panic rising in her eyes and pulled her closer to settle her down.

"Hey, hey, don't panic its okay." Troy murmured soothingly and Gabriella didn't reply, instead she pushed her face into his neck and Troy felt her grip on him tighten considerably.

"No it's not okay. What if they find out? They're going to expect you to throw away the championship. Please tell me you're not going to throw it away because of me. _Please_ tell me you're not going to do that." Gabriella begged, her voice muffled due to the fact that her face was pressed deep into the side of his neck.

"I'm not going too." Troy said, pressing a reassuring kiss behind her ear and glancing at Taylor who was watching the two in what Troy took as amusement even though he had a feeling disgust was mixed in there as well.

"How are you not going to? You said that Greg said that he would-" Troy interrupted her before her voice could get any louder, glancing around the room to make sure that no-one had been paying a lot of attention to her. He sighed when he realized that everyone _had _probably heard what she was saying; just no-one had comprehended it.

"Its okay babe, relax. I've got something figured out." He replied soothingly and Gabriella pulled her face from where it had been hiding in his neck to look at him, suddenly confused.

"What have you got figured out and why didn't you tell me earlier?" She demanded suddenly and Troy rolled his eyes and laughed slightly, ignoring the baleful look she gave him as well as the pinch on his shoulder.

"Because you didn't ask and I wanted to take you by surprise. By the way, it took you awhile to remember what I said." Troy said and Gabriella narrowed her eyes at him, before hitting his shoulder.

"Don't change the subject. What is that you've got figured out?" She asked and Troy sighed.

"It's not really complete, so don't get your hopes up," he warned and Gabriella nodded. "I was thinking that if Reynolds thought I picked you over the championship he might back off a little bit, giving me a little bit of breathing space to have a chat to Greg and take the floor out from beneath Reynolds." He explained softly and Gabriella bit her lip at his words. Troy waited silently for her thoughts, knowing just by the face she was making that she was processing what he was saying.

"But…what about telling someone? Can't we just tell someone?" She asked and Troy shook his head, raising his hand to stroke his fingers down her face gently as she looked at him pleadingly.

"If we tell someone, I doubt they'll believe us. Listen to me," Troy murmured when he saw her mouth open to protest. "It's my word against Reynolds. My track record isn't exactly brilliant and they'll believe Reynolds over me because he doesn't do anything that could make them suspicious. I do. Besides, it's more satisfying beating Reynolds at his own game." Troy replied watching her face carefully for her reaction to his words, worried that at a mention of his reputation might send her running because as far as he knew, Gabriella had no idea what he was meant to be like. She was silent for a moment and Troy waited for her reply.

"Troy…I don't want Greg to hurt me again. It scares me." Gabriella's voice was soft and laced with fright. Unexpectedly, Troy felt a surge of pure hate as he realized how much that one night had scared Gabriella. Stroking his hand down the side of her face again, Troy pressed a kiss to her lips again.

"Listen to me; I'm not going to let anyone hurt you again. If I let them hurt you, then I lose you and I'm not willing to lose you. Trust me babe, I'm not going to let Henderson near you if I can help it. I don't want him anywhere near you ever again." Troy murmured and Gabriella just nodded, ignoring Miss Darbus' pointed cough to get off Troy's lap and burying herself deeper into him.

Troy pressed a kiss to the side of her head and rubbed her back gently as he fought the urge to hunt Greg down and hurt him for hurting the girl curled up in his lap. Troy nuzzled her hair, feeling his resolve to yank the floor from beneath West High's feet strengthen as he saw one single tear slide down her cheek.

**A/N: Okay, I hope that was worth the wait!! Anyway, the question I need to ask you all is that I'm seriously considering raising Dangerous Fascination from T to M because of how I want to write the next chapter. However, I need to know all of your opinions on it because if it makes a fair number of you uncomfortable then I won't do it. So please let me know, because if I do decide to go ahead with changing the rating I need to start rewriting the chapter immediately! So please, please forgive me and please let me know!! I really would love your feedback on the rating change, I think you all deserve that consideration!**


	14. Game Over

DISCLAIMER: I do not own 'High School Musical' or any related characters.

A/N: Well, this is the second last chapter. I know I said that it was on hiatus but then I though there are only two more chapters to go, why not finish it? So I hope everyone enjoys this because it certainly took me long enough to write it and I hope you all love it!

_**Cat and Mouse**_

* * *

**CHAPTER 14  
**

**GAME OVER**

She wasn't sure how she felt. She wasn't sure if she felt nervous, irate or relaxed. She wasn't even sure she felt any of those things and she couldn't even be sure that she felt annoyed because she couldn't figure out what she felt. Hence why she was sitting in Biology, counting down the minutes until the teacher let them off so they could get to the gym early and find a seat thinking about all the things her boyfriend hadn't told her and wondering what the hell he was going to do about the stupid threat that he didn't seem the least bit worried about.

At the current moment, Gabriella hated that she trusted her boyfriend. Honestly, after all the crap he'd put her through, it was a wonder that she trusted him, she thought as she squinted at the board, attempting at least an interest in whatever they were talking about. An interest, Gabriella found, that didn't exist at all.

Glancing around the room, Gabriella found that she wasn't the only one in her AP Biology class that seemed interested. They were all shifting in their seats, sliding notes between each other, one girl, Gabriella noted with interest, was coloring her arm red and white in honor of the school. It was the very first time she'd ever seen any of her classes so disinterested in the work that should have held their rapt attention for the entire period and it wasn't that unnerving either. Gabriella wasn't sure if it wasn't unnerving because of the fact that she was waiting with baited breath for the announcement that would allow them to stumble from their classroom and to the gym or because she was too distracted trying to figure out her boyfriends plan to really let it sink in.

Either way she didn't find it odd at all and that in itself was strange.

Looking down at her opened notebook, Gabriella frowned when she saw that all she had written was something that resembled 'Mrs Gabriella Bolton'. Abruptly, she shut her book as she realized that the words were 'Mrs Gabriella Bolton' and so juvenile she knew she'd be embarrassed if anyone saw them. Looking up again, Gabriella began to fidget with her pen and glanced across at Taylor, who seemed to be doing the exact same thing.

"Will the lesson ever end?" Taylor whispered, when she saw Gabriella looking at her. Before Gabriella could reply, there was a knock on the door and the class sat up straight as the door swung open, revealing a freshman who seemed to be a little bit intimidated.

"Yes?" Gabriella wanted to glare at her teacher for their imperious tone and then froze when she saw what the freshman was carrying.

"I-I have to give this to Gabriella Montez." The boy said and Gabriella was already halfway to the door before the teacher could even call for her to come out the front. Gabriella smiled reassuringly at the boy, who went bright red as she came to a halt in front of him and offered her the bundle he was carrying.

"Thank you very much." Gabriella said sweetly as she took it and tried to hide her delight as she unraveled the bundle and discovered a note and Troy's letterman jacket.

"He said he wants you to wear it from now on." The freshman, who seemed to have gained confidence when he realized she wasn't going to mean to her, told her and Gabriella could hear the unspoken plead in the relay of words.

"Alright. Thanks." Gabriella said and he nodded and backed out of the classroom as she pulled on the jacket. She could feel her class's eyes on her as she tried not to be too obvious about breathing in Troy's scent as she snuggled into the jacket.

"Well, now that that's done, Miss Montez would you like to return to your seat and the questions?" Gabriella nodded slowly as she began to walk back towards her desk and Taylor. As soon as she'd sat down, she opened the note she held in her hand.

_Make sure you come straight to the gym as soon as you're allowed.  
I want to show you off.  
Stop worrying.  
I love you  
Troy_

Gabriella reread the note and frowned. Was he trying to be cryptic? Why on earth would he want to show her off? West High was going to in the gym, warming up, if she went straight to the gym. Gabriella's eyes widened in panic at the thought and she glanced at Taylor, who was reading the note over Gabriella's shoulder and grinning like cat with its mouthful of feathers.

"He's brilliant." Taylor breathed and Gabriella dropped the note and spun to look at her friend at the praise that seemed so rare from Taylor.

"What's brilliant? Why would he want me there while they're warming up? What's he doing?" Gabriella asked, feeling slightly hysterical as the more she thought about her turning up their wearing Troy's lettermen jacket, the more she saw how impossible it was to do.

"Are you kidding me? Gabriella, Troy's got this all figured out. He's going to beat West High at they're own game by provoking them into doing something stupid. It's so simple it's brilliant!" Taylor exclaimed looking at her friend like she was crazy. Gabriella shook her head at the words.

"How can provoking West High do any good? What's he thinking? That Greg'll just leave me alone?" Gabriella asked and Taylor bit her lip as she realized that Gabriella couldn't see that as long as Troy was around her, Greg Henderson wasn't going anywhere near her.

"Gabi, its okay. Just let Troy do the talking." Taylor said and Gabriella bit her lip at the words. That was easy; Gabriella had a feeling she'd be too terrified to do anymore than squeak as soon as she was in the gym. Before she could reply to Taylor, their teacher suddenly stood up.

"Alright, everyone you can go." Gabriella froze at the word, looking down at Troy's note and wondering if she should follow it.  
"Go. I'll look after your books, alright?" Taylor said, making up Gabriella's mind for her. Gabriella glanced at Taylor and nodded.

Biting her lip, she stood up and joined the rush of her classmates as they exited the classroom into the sea of students. Gabriella found herself going with the crowd as she headed for the gym, praying that nothing bad would happen as she found herself swept to the doors of the gym. Pausing for a moment, Gabriella struggled to find the courage to go in and then, once again, the choice was taken out of her hands as she was pushed through the doors and entered into the gym.

The atmosphere of the gym was electric and Gabriella felt like she'd been shocked as she walked in and found West and East High warming up on the court, shooting each other furtive, menacing glances as they each practiced drills that displayed their skills. Gabriella stopped hesitantly on the baseline, watching as one of the East High players shot a three pointer with an ease that had Gabriella wondering how long it had taken him to make it look that easy. Before she could think anymore, she caught sight of Troy and felt her breath catch in her throat as she looked at him. He was watching them warm up and hardly looked out of breath, a sign that reminded Gabriella how fit he was. She knew that they'd been warming up for the past half hour, physically and mentally preparing themselves for the game. He looked so calm that Gabriella had to wonder if he was nervous at all.

She nearly started when he glanced from the team warming up, to her and met her eyes. Calm seemed to wash over her as he smiled at her reassuringly, reminding her all over again how much she loved him. She watched as he spoke to the man standing beside him and then headed over to where she was standing.

"I knew you'd look hot in my jacket." He stated when he was close enough. Gabriella blushed slightly as he reached out and pulled her close to him, Gabriella raised her arms and twined them around her neck as she looked up at him.

"Really? And it has nothing to do with the fact that West High are probably going to freak when they see what I'm wearing?" Gabriella asked and Troy smirked slightly, pulling her forward slightly so that they weren't hidden by Troy's team.

"Well, maybe." He murmured leaning down to capture her either to shut her up or because he wanted too, Gabriella wasn't sure. What she was sure of however, was the fact that her mind had stopped whirring the minute he'd kissed her and she liked it.

"Love you." Gabriella whispered when they pulled away for air, Troy smiled slightly, kissing her again before he replied.

"Love you too. Reckon everyone's watching?" He asked and Gabriella opened her eyes enough to see that they had indeed caught the attention of most of the occupants of the gym, including West High.

"I'm pretty sure they are," Gabriella said and then shrieked when Troy's hand dove into her hair, the other at her lower back and he dipped her as he kissed her so heatedly Gabriella was pretty sure that the people at the back of the bleachers were scorched. Not that she minded, she just knew that the kiss may have seemed like a one time thing but it spoke of all the things he was going to do to her later on when the game was over.

Gabriella heard someone clearing their throat and couldn't help by wonder how Troy was clearing his throat when his tongue and mouth were otherwise occupied.

"Troy, Gabriella, stop that!" At the sound of Coach Bolton's voice, Gabriella pulled away from her boyfriend, blushing furiously as Troy straightened them up and looked at his father.

"Yes Dad?" He asked neutrally and Gabriella buried her face in Troy's shoulder, unable to look at the Coach as she felt his eyes on them.

"The game starts in a few minutes; I think Miss Montez needs to find a seat." The amusement that seemed to lace Coach Bolton's voice caused Gabriella to raise her head from Troy's shoulder and try and turn to look at him as Troy nodded.

"Sure. I'll be out there in a minute." Troy said and before Gabriella could look at Coach Bolton, he'd gone leaving her to look at her boyfriend reproachfully.

"What's with that? I was expecting to get yelled at." Gabriella asked and Troy shrugged, giving Gabriella the impression that it was something he didn't really want to get into right then.

"I'll tell you later. Go sit with Taylor, just behind the player's bench, okay?" Troy said and Gabriella nodded, leaning up to kiss him one more time before she left him to go out and deal with West High.

"Okay. Good luck. I love you." She whispered, kissing him again once more before reluctantly stepping out of his arms and turning to head towards the bleachers and the seat Troy was speaking about.

"Hey babe?" Troy suddenly called out; Gabriella turned and noticed Andrew Reynolds and Greg Henderson watching them curiously. "I love you too." Gabriella blushed at his words and the way he watched her intently, seeming to forget they were being watched closely by the two players who had made a threat against her and this championship.

* * *

Troy watched Gabriella go and couldn't help the smirk that graced his face as he watched her go, his letterman jacket announcing to the world exactly who she belonged to. It was the perfect way to piss Reynolds and Henderson off. So perfect in fact, Troy couldn't wait to put the rest of his plan into action but held off on the desire long enough to watch Gabriella settle herself into the seat beside Taylor and smile at him gently. As soon as he knew she was safe, he turned and headed towards the team huddle.

Jogging over, he stopped just outside, listening to the game plan his father had gone over with him over an hour before and waited for his turn to speak. As captain, Troy knew that what he said had to be powerful enough to get the boys going and as soon as he saw the signal from his dad that it was his turn, Troy stepped into the centre of the circle.

Looking around, he caught sight of Chad, who looked so uncharacteristically serious that Troy couldn't help but wonder what was going through his head.

"This is it. This is the game that we've all been waiting for," Troy started quietly; his words calm and focused as he glanced around his team. "This is the game that we are going to win. We have an entire gym backing us. We have been training for this since the season began and you know what else?" Troy looked at them, not expecting a reply and wasn't surprised when no-one gave him.

"We have West High scared shitless." The words probably could have been more eloquent but Troy didn't care as he continued. "West High is currently standing on the other side of this court wondering what the fuck is going on. Two things are going through their heads. One is the fact that they know we're too good for them and they know it. They know they're going to lose this game." Troy said, glancing around as he watched every one of his teammates faces grow more and more serious as he spoke, not loud enough to be heard outside the huddle but loud enough to be so firm they couldn't question him.

"And the second?" Chad spoke up, watching Troy as a smirk that held seemed to epitomize Troy Bolton worked its way across Troy's face.

"They thought I was going to throw this. West High was so confident that I couldn't have this game and Gabriella Montez that they were overconfident. So, when you get out on that caught remind them of that. Remind them that their captain is the whole reason they're going to lose this game and make sure they remember that East High is something that should never, ever be threatened." Troy's eyes flew over their faces as he spoke. "Unless they want to face the consequences." Troy smirked and watched as they all glanced at each other, smirking as they realized what Troy was saying.

"What team?" Chad suddenly shouted and his shout was heard over the crowd as the East High Wildcats stamped their feet loudly.

"WILDCATS!" The shout was enough to cause the electric atmosphere to spark and Troy broke away from the huddle when they heard the whistle blow and the roar of a gymnasium full of teenagers, parents and teachers filled it.

Troy, throwing one smirk to Gabriella who blew him a kiss in a rare display of confidence, let the atmosphere wash over him as Chad came over to him and bumped their shoulders together to gain Troy's attention.

"So we reminding them exactly who they're dealing with?" Chad asked as Troy's eyes sought out Reynolds and Henderson who were approaching them.

"No. We're reminding them that no-one can play the game better than us." Troy replied with a smirk as the two other boys came to a stop in front of them. Andrew's face, distorted by an ugly sneer that concealed how nervous he was, caused Troy to smirk.

"So you're going to throw the game?" He spat at Troy and Troy let out a short, menacing laugh that made Henderson cringe.

"I never said that." Troy said and Reynolds took a step towards Troy that matched them, eye for eye.

"Then I suppose we'll have to see how the game goes." He said and this time, Troy's laugh was amused instead of menacing as he looked at the West High captain.

"Maybe you should learn the rules of the game first before you take on the pro." Troy suggested and only smirked when the referee blew his whistle again, signaling the need for them all to be in position.

Troy raised one eyebrow cockily at Reynolds before taking his place around the circle at the center of the court. He glanced around at his teammates and then smirked when he realized who his West High player was going to be. Apparently, the coach of West High thought that because Greg Henderson had been in their team before he was at West High, he'd know exactly how to block Troy from play.

"Well, well, well, Henderson. Never thought you'd want to be this close to me again." Troy said as Henderson readied himself next to Troy. Troy watched as Greg glanced at him and didn't reply. "Just before we start, I want you to know. She really does love me." Troy whispered and then waited as the ball was thrown into the air and the two centers jumped to smash it away from each other.

Troy reacted instantly as he caught the ball that had been hit to him, the defense was set up as he headed towards the key, stopping at the three-pointer line and searching for a pass. Out of the corner of his eye, Troy saw Henderson coming towards him and took a shot. The ball sailed through the air and swished through the basket and the score read 3-0 as Troy smirked at him.

"Before I forget, I spent all of last night with Gabriella and just so you know, she has the body of a goddess." Troy said as he smirked at Greg.

It was the perfect revenge, Troy thought as he sprinted back to the other end of the court. Greg Henderson had been after Gabriella for so long, provoking him wasn't too hard, especially when Troy knew he had a temper to be reckoned with.

The game became brutal after that. Troy found himself sweating profusely as the first quarter came and went in a clash of bodies, skill and minds. The second quarter was no better and as the physicality of the game increased the crowds energy did too. As the buzzer for halftime sounded, Troy found himself sliding across the floor after a collision of bodies that he'd hardly been aware of happening. He stood, wincing as the referee blew his whistle signaling halftime and the two teams jogged to the opposite ends of the court. They were leading but it didn't feel like it.

He followed his team and, grabbing his drink bottle, ignored his father as he leaned across the player's bench to hold onto Gabriella for a moment.

"Are you alright?" Gabriella whispered wrapping her arms around his shoulders as Troy breathed heavily into her shoulder, savoring the few moments away from the intensity and tension that had begun to define the game as he nodded his head.

"I'll be fine." He mumbled and pulled away to look at her properly. "Do me a favor and don't listen to anything that comes out of my mouth on the court." He said wincing slightly as her hand ran over a newly forming bruise.

Gabriella nodded and Troy kissed her quickly, before turning to his team. Raising his eyebrows at them as he felt Gabriella's hand slide to his back, Troy looked around.

"Let's finish this." He said and they all nodded. Troy reached behind him and squeezed Gabriella's hand as he gulped down more water, before throwing it to the assistant coach. Letting go of her hand, Troy took a step toward the court and was immediately stopped by his father.

"Whatever you're doing out there Troy, keep doing it. Henderson's going to foul you soon." Jack said quietly to his son, Troy looked at his father carefully and noting the approval in Jacks eyes, nodded his head.

Jogging back out onto the court, Troy waited patiently for the game to restart as the West High coach spoke rapidly to some of the players. Troy watched as Henderson was let go and jogged over to him. Troy wiped his forehead on his arm and waited patiently as Henderson came to a stop next to him.

"Hey Henderson, remember how I asked you if it sucked that I fucked Gabriella when you fucked up your chance with her? I've been meaning to ask, does it really suck to know that after the game, whether we win or lose, she's going to come with me, in more ways than one?" Troy asked cockily and watched as Greg's hands clenched into fists at his words, no doubt a warning for Troy to shut up before Greg attempted to do serious damage to him.

The whistle for the third quarter blew before Henderson could reply and Troy caught the ball that was thrown to him as West High set up around the key, it seemed to be reminiscent of the first quarter and Troy bounced the ball, watching for an opening as he kept an eye on Henderson, who appeared to be biding his time.

"Henderson, you never answered my question. Don't you care that she's going to come with me?" Troy asked tauntingly, knowing that the referee was too far away to hear what he was saying.

Troy didn't even have time to think about what Henderson would do before he hit the polished wooden floor with a thud. He heard the referee's whistle, the crowd's roar of indignation and stared at Henderson with victory coursing through his veins. Troy got up slowly, watching with satisfaction that was hard to conceal as Henderson was sent off the court. Knowing he was getting two free throws, Troy moved to the free throw line and stood there, watching as Reynolds ran on as Henderson's replacement.

Catching the ball as it bounced too him, Troy waited patiently, staring at the basket for such a long time he could see West High begin to fidget. Troy suddenly threw the ball, watching as it swished through the net. The crowd roared as the referee caught it again, signaled that it was his second shot at basket and threw the ball to him. Troy raised it and shot as soon as the referee's whistle blew, knowing that if it rebounded West High would be all over it. He watched in satisfaction as it swished through.

"You ready for the finale?" He asked, glancing at Reynolds as he ran past. Andrew didn't respond and Troy smirked, turning to go back and set up around the key with his team.

Troy hadn't been expecting Reynolds to respond but what he had expected happened. Tempers began to fray as East High began to frustrate West High even more and the clash of bodies that had happened in the first half was beginning to become even more vicious than it had been before. Troy knew that as East High breathed into West High's ears, they were doing serious damage to West Highs psychological game and it had begun to show as the fourth quarter started. The crowd, shouting themselves hoarse as they watched what was beginning to be considered a clash of the titans, had long forgotten who they were cheering for and instead, were simply shouting for the sake of it.

Reynolds was getting worse.

Troy couldn't help but breathe down his neck as they fought for dominance on the court. The whispered words of how quickly the game was slipping between his fingers were causing more mistakes for him than Troy found believable. Wiping sweat from his forehead, Troy breathed heavily as the crowd shouting grew louder as West High flew down the court towards them. Readying himself, Troy waited patiently as they went the opposite side of him, hoping that Jason got the ball. The crowd groaned as Troy blinked and swish of the basket confirmed something Troy hadn't wanted to happen. The score was now tied and he nodded at Chad, who threw the ball from the baseline to him.

Troy slowly jogged towards the West High defense, his eyes seeking out his team. Seeing Chad at the opposite side of the key, Troy threw him the ball and waited for a second as Chad bounced the ball to the corner. Sprinting into the key, Troy knew Chad had seen him and, shrugging off a defender, Troy caught the ball Chad threw, turned and shot.

His body went flying backwards as Reynolds dropped his shoulder into him as soon as he'd let go of the ball.

This time when Troy hit the ground, it didn't feel like he was going to get up. Reynolds had caught him while he was still in the air and Troy held his stomach as the pain in his chest caused his breathing to shorten to shallow gasps.

He heard the buzzer go and glanced up at the scoreboard as he watched two West High players drop down to their haunches to bury their faces in their hands. That only meant one thing. Adrenaline suddenly rushed through Troy as he realized what had happened. He'd scored. East High had won. Suddenly finding energy, Troy rose to his feet, wincing slightly when his back throbbed slightly at the movement.

"Dude! We won!" Chad's shout could just be heard over the din of the crowd as Troy unexpectedly found himself engulfed by a crowd of red and white. He laughed as he was hugged, patted on the back and even kissed on the cheek several times by people he hardly knew.

He was let go from a hug and looked up to see Gabriella standing in front of him, her eyes sparkling, as she waited for him to be let go completely before she threw herself at him, her arms tight around his neck as their lips met.

"Congratulations." She murmured against his mouth, kissing him again before he could speak.

"Thanks, I'm glad you came." Troy said and was rewarded with her giggle before a hush fell over the exuberant crowd. Troy looked from his girlfriend to the distraction and grimaced when he saw Reynolds, Smith and Henderson, all sweaty and wearing identical expressions.

"Reynolds, good game." Troy nodded, knowing that the words would provoke him more than anything else he had said on the court would.

"Good game? What the fuck Bolton? You were meant to lose!" Reynolds shout was heard by everyone and Troy watched him steadily as Henderson and Smith glanced around nervously, suddenly aware that Reynolds temper was going to get the better of him.

"I was meant to lose? Since when?" Troy asked, tightening his grip on Gabriella's waist as Reynolds took a step towards them.

"Since I fucking told you to! I told you that if you didn't throw the game Henderson here was going to hurt your darling little girlfriend! Remember? We were all here to do it? But I suppose it's a fair trade, he hurts her and then she hates you for the rest of your life." Reynolds snapped and Troy felt Gabriella bury her face in his shoulder at the mention of the threat as Troy continued to look at Reynolds steadily.

"Really? Well, there you go. You do realize you just announced that to our coaches' right?" Troy asked curiously, ending the conversation as he looked over at his father and West High's coach, both looked furious.

Not wanting to see what was going to happen to Reynolds at his admission, Troy slowly pulled Gabriella through the crowd as they all continued to stare in shock at the three West High players. Once they were outside, Troy leaned against the wall and held Gabriella to him tightly.

"So…how did you pull that off?" Gabriella asked, leaning her chin on his chest too look up at him, her eyes lit with curiosity. Troy shrugged at the question.

"Reynolds has always had a temper that gets him into trouble and I just played into that. Besides, Henderson's going to get into heaps of shit when my Dad's through with him. I told him about the threat before we ran out." Troy said and Gabriella's eyes widened, not at his admission but who he told.

"You told your dad?" She asked in shock and Troy shrugged.

"Yeah well, we might not get along at the moment but he believes me about most stuff, why not this?" Troy asked and Gabriella suddenly realized why Coach Bolton hadn't gotten mad at them at the beginning. He'd been too happy that Troy had decided to confide in him about the threat, to scold him about anything else.

"I'm glad you told someone." Gabriella said leaning up to kiss him as Troy breathed a sigh of relief.

They stood there for a moment, wrapped in each other as they both contemplated what had happened since the morning.

"We probably should head to the after party." Troy said thoughtfully and Gabriella looked up at him and rolled her eyes.

"Of course." She agreed and Troy heard the sarcasm in her voice and knew it was because she didn't think he should have stated something that obvious. Before she could pulled away, Troy leaned down and kissed her again, enjoying the fact that for the first time since they'd gotten back to school, it was game over.

* * *

A/N: Well, only one more chapter and then its all over! SFM should be up as soon as I've finished it and that should be soon! I know it was weak, but I just feel like I have to finish this.


	15. Happy With The Game

DISCLAIMER: I do not own 'High School Musical' or any related characters.

A/N: Well, as those who have read DF, you'll already know that I'm aiming to finish my unfinished stories before starting any new ones. So C&M having only one chapter left, seemed like a really good place to start the finishing business, after DF of course, but that has so many more chapters to come, so this one was easy! Anyway, please enjoy this chapter, its probably not exactly great but I hope you enjoy it anyway!

* * *

_**Cat and Mouse**_

**CHAPTER 15**

**HAPPY WITH THE GAME  
**

Troy glanced around the room, his eyes flicking over the hoards of students dancing against each other, noticing, assessing and then dismissing. This was _the_ party of the year and he was sitting in a corner, feeling bored. It didn't matter that the party had been thrown for him and his team or that he shouldn't be proving how grateful he was by sitting in a corner, dismissing people and sulking because she'd been swept away from him the moment they'd stepped into the party, what mattered was that _all_ he had wanted to do when he'd gotten there was to chose a lounge chair and sit with her snuggled up next to him. Instead, she was somewhere in the house with Taylor and he was standing in the freaking corner sulking.

Was simply being with his girlfriend after everything that had happened too much to ask?

Apparently, Troy thought bitterly, it was. Taylor didn't care that maybe he wanted to be with her. Instead she had taken his girlfriend God knows where and Troy found himself wishing he'd opted for taking her back to his place and celebrating in a more intimate manner. Just thinking about doing that made Troy want to bang his head against something. Hard. For some reason, a misplaced sense of duty had overshadowed his desire and, as he took a sip of the beer that had been shoved into his hand the moment Gabriella had let it go, Troy wished his conscience and sense of duty to hell and back.

"No offense Troy, but your scaring people." The sound of Chad's voice had his head snapping up and Troy glared at Chad for a moment, before sighing and shrugging.

"Good." Troy muttered darkly, if he was scaring people maybe he could get out of there sooner, with Gabriella in tow of course.

"So, where's your better half? Cause I'm pretty sure you wouldn't look like you want to kill someone if she was here." Troy glanced across at Chad as he leaned against the wall next to Troy and looked out at the crowd of people as well.

"Why don't you ask _your_ better half? I'm pretty sure that she'd be able to tell you." Troy snapped and watched as Chad choked on another sip of beer. Instead of laughing, like he would have done if he hadn't been sulking, Troy just frowned as he watched Chad recover.

"What gave you the idea that Tay's my better half?" Chad asked and Troy raised an eyebrow at the shortened version of Taylor's name.

"Tay?" He stated as if it was an answer to Chad's question. Chad shook his head at Troy's eyebrows and knowing expression.

"Don't give me that look. Nothing happened and nothing will happen. We're just friends who bonded over a mutual impatience and annoyance at our friend's obliviousness and your idiocy." Chad stated causing Troy to chuckle slightly.

"Well, she must be a really _good_ friend if she's teaching you all those big words. What does she do, pat your head every time a big one leaves your mouth?" Troy asked with a smirk and Chad frowned at him and Troy tried not to laugh as he watched Chad wonder whether or not to take what he'd said for face value or not.

"Whatever Bolton. You're just cranky because your girlfriend was hijacked the moment she walked into this party and you haven't been able to do anything about it." Chad snapped and Troy's smirk dropped from his face at the mention of his missing girlfriend.

"Or maybe it's because I want to celebrate a little differently with my girlfriend." He snapped and it was Chad's turn to chuckle.

"Right. That doesn't change the fact that she's not here and you're pissed." Chad pointed out and Troy rolled his eyes at him, shrugging slightly as he took another sip of his beer and once again scanned the party in search of his girlfriend.

"Whatever. Do you have any idea where they went?" Troy asked, suddenly curios as to _where_ his girlfriend had gone. It was Chad's turn to shrug and Troy frowned. What if she had left the party without telling him? Would she do that to him?

"Dude, do you think that they left the party?" Troy glanced at Chad, wondering why he was thinking the same thing if Taylor was simply his friend.

Raising his beer to his lips again, Troy took another gulp and then nearly choked when his eyes fell on the one person he'd been sulking over for the past half an hour. Gabriella made her way towards him, somewhat nervously, as Troy's eyes dragged down her body, noting that despite the fact that she was still wearing his letterman jacket, she'd changed out of the conservative skirt and shirt she'd worn to school and was now clad in tight, black jeans and, from what he could see beneath his jacket, a deep red shirt that clung to her curves. Her hair had been straightened and curled at the ends and, from what he could see now that she was close to him; her make-up had been redone to emphasize her eyes.

"Hi." She said quietly and Troy felt himself smirk at her as she fiddled with the bottom of his jacket. Apparently nervous about something he couldn't quite put his finger on.

"Thank you for gracing us with your presence Montez." He said, trying not to sound annoyed with her and Gabriella frowned at him, giving Troy the impression that he'd failed at it miserably.

"Aw, did I make someone cranky?" She snapped at him, still fiddling with the edge of his jacket. Troy narrowed his eyes at her, not appreciating her sarcasm.

"No. You just made him sulky." Chad cut Troy off before he could even voice anything and Troy found himself refusing to smile when Gabriella's lips curved at Chad's words. She glanced back at him curiously and Troy simply shrugged at her unasked question and Gabriella giggled slightly at his response.

"Did I? Wow, I never thought I would be able to do that." She stepped closer and tugged at the arm he had folded across his chest, grinning slightly as his arm fell limply to his side and she sidled up to him.

As soon as she pressed herself against his side, Troy softened, wrapping the arm she'd tugged down around her shoulders and pressing a kiss to her forehead.

"Yeah well, I don't like it when my girlfriends dragged off by her best friend without telling me where she's going." He murmured against her hair and felt her shoulders shake in what he knew was laughter as she wrapped an arm around his stomach.

"Sorry. Taylor said I needed to look hot at this party." There was something in the way she said it that made Troy tilt her head upwards and kiss her softly. He felt her relax slightly as she kissed back and wondered what had made her feel so uncertain.

"Okay. I'm going to go if all you two are going to do is make out." Chad's voice broke caused Troy to break their kiss and he glared at his friend without any real heat. Chad just rolled his eyes and snatched Troy's beer out of his hand before walking off.

"This is the first party I've been to since you and I…happened." Gabriella murmured against his mouth. Troy smirked as he kissed her mouth again and then frowned when he remembered what had happened at the other party.

"You don't want to be here, do you baby?" Troy pulled away just enough to see the flash of relief in her eyes. Troy ignored the swell of pride in his chest at being able to read between his girlfriend's words. Gabriella shook her head.

"No. Not really. I don't…I don't-" Troy cut her of before Gabriella could fumble with her words anymore.

"It's okay, baby. Whose place do you want to go to? Mine or yours?" Troy asked gently, pulling her a little more tightly against his chest. Gabriella snuggled into him even more, her other arm slipping around his waist so she could link her fingers together and reassure herself that he wasn't going to go anywhere without her.

"Mine. Mom's not at home tonight." Gabriella replied, tilting her head up towards his face.

Troy raised his eyebrows. "Really? So we can celebrate in any room?" He asked and Gabriella blushed, unlinking her hands to slap his chest.

"Eww, I want to at least walk into one room of my house and not be reminded of things that leave me red in the face." Gabriella leaned up to kiss him even as she spoke, giggling slightly when Troy rubbed his nose against hers teasingly before catching her in a kiss that held a hint of promise that made Gabriella moan softly against his mouth.

"Aww, isn't this a pretty picture?" Troy jerked at the sound of Greg Henderson's voice. His surprise morphed to anger when Gabriella let out a nearly soundless whimper of fright.

Deliberately, Troy placed his beer down onto the table that sat next to him, making sure it was in the right position even as he struggled to control the temper that was threatening to snap. He doubted it would look good to the coaches if East High's captain beat up one of the accused.

"What do you want Henderson?" Casually, Troy placed himself between Henderson and Gabriella. He felt her hand grip his shirt even as the other slid down to grasp his.

Greg Henderson watched this carefully; something inside him tugging as he saw the way Gabriella leaned into Troy, her eyes wide with fright _he_ had caused. Guilt and shame, two emotions he had become close friends with over the past couple of weeks, washed over him. He'd never meant to hurt Gabriella, he'd spent so long mooning over her, watching her to see if she would ever show the slightest interest in him that to see her hurting killed him. It really did make him ashamed of what he had done to her at the party. But nothing, he thought, nothing was going to compare to how stupid he'd felt and how sick he'd felt when he'd gotten caught in Andrew's web. There was no excuse for what he had done, though his strong dislike for Troy may have had something to do with it, and he couldn't imagine what he had put her through in those few weeks before the championship.

It was his entire fault she was looking at him like he was going to hurt her again.

"Henderson, I asked you a question, what do you want?" Troy snapped, tightening his grip on Gabriella's hand as Henderson stared unseeingly at the brunette. Something about the way Henderson was looking at his girlfriend made Troy very uncomfortable. He felt Gabriella press a kiss to his shoulder, even as she pressed closer.

"I came to apologize." The words stopped any verbal attack Troy might have been planning on him. Greg shifted uncomfortably at their incredulous stares. "We have to apologize anyway, cause you know, of the championship. But I kinda figured you guys might want to know I'm sorry for what happened. Especially with all the stuff about me and Gabriella." He stepped forward and Gabriella squeaked even as Troy's hand shot out to stop him coming any closer.

"Babe, why don't you go out to the car?" Troy murmured it, knowing that it might be easier for her if she wasn't there.

For a moment, Gabriella debated the pros and cons of leaving the situation and then realized that being in the presence of Greg Henderson scared her. Even with Troy there, Gabriella wasn't game enough to spend even more time in his presence.

"Yeah, okay. Fine by me." Troy smirked slightly, digging into his pocket for his car keys as he reassuringly placed a kiss on her forehead. Gabriella snatched them from his hand and Greg watched remorsefully as she hurried out of the room, keeping her eyes on the floor as she walked past him, not looking back at them at all as she left the room.

They both stared after her for a moment, before Troy turned his hardened gaze towards Henderson.

"Henderson lets get this straight. I don't give a shit about what you did to me. Frankly, I really don't like you. You and Reynolds deserve each other as far as I'm concerned. You're both idiots who thought you could beat me and you both got beaten at your own game." Troy studied him as he spoke and was satisfied when he saw Greg's fist curl. "What I care about is the girl who just left this room because of you-" Troy was surprised when Greg cut him off, his own eyes cold.

"So do I. Just because you have her Bolton doesn't mean no-one else cares about her. It just means she's been blinded by you and can't see anyone else outside of you." Greg snapped and Troy chuckled, shaking his head slightly at his words.

"No Greg, she was never going to get with you. She didn't even know who you were, did you know that? She had no clue you were into her and even if she did, I doubt you would have had a chance." Troy shifted slightly when he saw Greg's fists curl at a truth he couldn't deny. He waited, knowing that, if necessary, he could beat Greg up as quickly and efficiently as he had the first time he'd ever really crossed paths with Greg Henderson.

Shame goaded him into refraining from violence. Despite knowing Troy could flatten him if he tried something, Greg still wanted to take a swing at his former captain, just for the heck of it. Then he did something that Troy hadn't expected. His fists relaxed and he sighed, rubbing a hand over his face.

"Look, Troy, I didn't come here to fight. Whether you want to believe it or not, I really did come here, by myself, to apologize for all the crap I put you guys through. I never wanted it to get so out of hand." Greg looked down at the floor, nudging a stray bottle with his foot as he spoke. "I was pissed at you for going home with her and I got really pissed when I found out you cared about her, cause Gabriella Montez was meant to be my eventual girlfriend and she wasn't meant to be into you." Troy snorted at his words.

"So, what? Attacking her at that party was meant to be your way of declaring your feelings?" He snapped and Greg winced at his words, knowing he probably deserved it.

"No. Look, will you just take the apology? I don't want to explain this to you." He snapped uncomfortably.

Troy fell silent, studying him and wondering if he really was sincere. Then he didn't care. All he wanted was to go back to Gabriella's place and fall asleep with her in his arms. It had been a very long couple of weeks and Troy found that the energy he was used to having was wearing thin and what he really wanted was a good night's sleep.

"Henderson. I don't give a damn about your apology. I just told you that. But I'll tell Brie what you said because she's the one that's important to you. I doubt she'll forgive you cause, truthfully, she's terrified of you. Good enough for you?" Troy didn't wait for an answer and he didn't care that perhaps he could have been a little more gracious. Greg had hurt Gabriella and tried to beat him at his own game and Troy found that it was enough for him to never speak to Henderson again.

As he walked past Henderson, Troy glanced back. "Henderson, she's mine. Get over it." Troy stepped out of the room, looking forward to lying next to his girlfriend more than anything else he ever had.

* * *

"What did Greg really want?" Troy shifted at Gabriella's question, nuzzling deeper into her neck as he pulled himself back from the brink of sleep.

He hadn't realized how tired he was until they were in Gabriella's room and he'd taken one long look at the bed and told Gabriella all he really wanted to do was sleep. She hadn't even questioned him. She'd just nodded and, after she'd slipped into her pajamas, had crawled into bed beside him, snuggling close.

"He really wanted to apologize. Shocking, huh?" Troy mumbled against her neck, placing a slow kiss there even as Gabriella wiggled around so she was facing him. She stroked his hair away from his eyes even as she raised an eyebrow.

"Shocking. I'm not going to forgive him." She said it so decisively that Troy felt a faint smile curl at his lips.

"I told him that you probably wouldn't." Troy said, waking up a little bit more as Gabriella placed a kiss on his lips. "He only did it because he was pissed off at me and had a thing for you, you know." Gabriella jerked away from him, her eyes widening at his words.

"No way." She gasped and Troy nodded.

"Way. It was mainly me going home with you and caring about you when you were meant to be his property." Troy said, wondering if she was going to let him kiss her again or be outraged by Greg's reasoning.

He wasn't surprised when she was outraged.

"I can't believe him! What am I? A piece of meat?" Troy groaned when Gabriella propped herself up, he attempted to pull her back down and groaned again when she resisted.

"Brie, baby, it's not the end of the world. Besides, I didn't exactly treat you the way you should be treated after the party anyway." Troy pointed out and then winced when Gabriella slapped his arm and glared down at him.

"Yeah. Putting me through those weeks of hell for a stupid game wasn't the way to treat me." Gabriella agreed viciously and Troy wondered if now would be a good time to pretend to be frightened of his girlfriend. "In fact, I can't believe you said half the things you said to me! Remember telling me about your three speeds? I couldn't believe you actually said that to me!" It would, Troy thought, probably be more productive to be sorry about what he'd said to her and let the rant run its course.

Too bad he couldn't help but smile up at her stupidly, finding her totally adorable as she glared down at him.

Reaching up, Troy twined a curl around his finger, still smiling stupidly and for the first time in a long time admitted to himself how happy he was. He wasn't happy because maybe he and his father were taking a step towards getting along. He wasn't happy because he'd beaten Reynolds at his own game. He wasn't even happy because they'd won the championship.

He was happy because he way lying in bed with a girl who was glaring down at him, mad at him because of things he'd said and who loved him.

It was, Troy mused as he tugged a little on the curl, strange because he'd never expected to become as involved with her as he had become. He never expected to care about her the way he did and he supposed he had Henderson to thank for that.

"…are you even listening to me?" Gabriella demanded, bringing him out of his thoughts as she stared down at him. Troy shrugged and heaved himself up onto his elbow.

"Not really. I was thinking about me, if you want me to be honest." Troy replied and Gabriella stared at him, her eyes narrowing as she realized that she'd been rambling on for the past couple of seconds without anyone listening to her.

"Really?" Troy grinned at the tone, knowing it meant she wasn't impressed at all with him and the explanation better be worth him not listening to her at all.

Tugging on the curl that he had wound around his finger Troy leaned up to kiss her, smiling into the kiss slightly as Gabriella slid her hand over his side. Troy pulled away reluctantly, knowing that she would only badger him later about what he'd been thinking about and knowing that he might not be able to really tell her later.

"You want to know what I was thinking about when you were rambling?" He asked when her lips began to form a pout before she realized what he was asking.

"Uh-huh." Gabriella slid back down, snuggling her head on his shoulder as Troy let his elbow give out and he flopped back down onto the bed.

Turning his face into her hair, Troy kissed the top of her head. "I was thinking about how happy I am at the moment. Its really cliché, but I don't think you have any idea how happy you make me. It would be easy for me to tell you, or anyone, that I'm happy about winning the championship or that I'm happy about beating Reynolds. I am and I bet I'll be happier about them when we fight about something. But right now, I'm happy because I have you." Troy knew if Gabriella chose to look now his face would be suspiciously red and he would never live it down.

Gabriella was silent as she allowed his words sink in. Her eyes were stinging with tears that wanted to fall and Gabriella buried her face deeper into his shoulder, breathing in deeply to control the tears Gabriella pressed a kiss to his shoulder before turning her face towards his.

"I love you." She whispered and Troy ran a hand through her hair. "And as cliché as that is and as horrible as half the things you said to me were, you make me happy. I'm happy now that I have you." Troy grinned again, running his hand through her hair and tangling his hand in the ends of her hair as she drew circles on his stomach.

"I love you too." Troy closed his eyes as Gabriella tangled their legs and kissed his shoulder again.

It was easy, he realized it was easy to lay here with her and not have to worry about anything else. He didn't have to worry about his reputation, he didn't have to think or try and figure out how to make sure Gabriella didn't get hurt because she had become tangled up in him.

Then there were the games. The games, Troy thought, he didn't have to worry about anymore. It occurred to him that he wouldn't be able to play anymore games now that Gabriella was his. But then again…Troy glanced down at his girlfriend, shifting slightly to bring her attention back up to him.

"Do you regret it?" He asked gently and Gabriella blinked up at him, wondering what he was talking about. Her eyes widened when she realized he was talking about the game she'd stumbled through and he'd smoothly won.

Troy waited, wondering if she really did regret it and then he heard her giggle.

"No. If we hadn't I doubt we'd be lying here. I don't regret the game we played." She replied and Troy grinned.

"Nah. Neither do I." Gabriella settled against him again and Troy, closing his eyes, let that stupid smile he had when she was ranting spread across his lips as he realized how grateful he was for the game they'd started.

The game of cat and mouse, Troy thought, had been the most rewarding game he had ever played.

**The End**

* * *

A/N: I'm sorry if it didn't seem up to par, but I honestly couldn't remember what I had planned for this chapter, which was strange cause I generally know how I'm going to finish a story when I start it. The in between gets me. Anyway, I hope it wasn't too terrible although I know its not my greated piece of writing but I am happy that this story is finished! I hope you enjoyed.

Now, I need to say a huge thank you to all my reviewers! You were all fantastic in the time it took me to finish this story and I have to say thank you for all of your comments and prompting to update. Every single one of your reviews are appreciated and I wish you could all know how much they all mean to me. You are all fantastic and I hope I can read your reviews in any of my other stories (stories that'll be finished before the beginning of a new year!) because I really appreciate all your comments and prompting! Thank you all so, so, so much!


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